World diabetes awareness day. Looking for that cure.

Anyone that has followed my blog will know that even though we have 3 children with type one diabetes. I will never support any cure that comes from Embryonic Stem Cell Research.

Type one diabetes came into our lives back in 2001. Our whole family is affected by this, not just the three children that live with it. It has impacted on us all and I am sure all my children could tell you stories of why we want to find a cure and what it would change for us.

When Tom was first diagnosed, I thought we would give him an injection each day and that he would live just like other children. I didn't realise that he was going to have hypo and hyper blood sugars, I didn't realise that any sport he did was going to affect his bsl, I didn't realise that any kind of illness would end up with him in hospital with a drip to keep him hydrated. I have learnt a lot since then though and there isn't much I don't know about diabetes now.

One of the things I have learnt a lot about is looking for a cure.

When I talk about curing diabetes, I think about having life without checking bsl, without giving any kind of injections, without weighing ever portion of food and working out how many carbohydrates each child is eating, without worrying about what some sports activity will do and without worrying about what an inaction or action is going to bring about.

Lots of research is looking at ways to regenerate islets. The thinking is, islets have been killed in the pancreas so we need to replace them to cure diabetes. In theory, this sounds right but I don't think finding a way to replace the islets will cure diabetes.

The reason people with type one diabetes have no islets is because their body has an antibody that kills the islets. These antibodies don't just disappear, they stay forever. I think that the cure we need to look for is getting rid of the antibodies that attack the islets in the first place.

The first time I realised this was when I watched this video by Dr. Faustman.



From the reading I have done. BCG will need to be injected into people with type one and repeated for their life but it will make our life so much easier. We support Dr. Fausttman's work because it is ethical and I believe it has the most promise.

World Diabetes Awareness Week.

I will be posting updates about our week and living with three children with type one diabetes at my Blogs Facebook page. 

I will be doing some posts here but it is very quick and easy to do updates on Facebook from my tablet and phone.

I am only 8 likes away from 100 likes so hope you would all go and like my page.

School Holidays.

Well we are into the second week of term two so I thought it was high time I did an update of what we did in the holidays.

In the first week, we celebrated my 48th birthday. Only two years till our 50th. It was a nice day. The family went to Mass together in the morning and then we had our parish priest and one of our seminarians over for lunch.

The weather for the first week was quite warm. It was a good time to start summer sewing. I sewed a few tops for me and a couple for a girlfriend.

In the second week, Steve and I travelled to Melbourne. We took Tom and Christopher to Adelaide with us and left them with Daniel and Amelia and Joseph stayed in Port Augusta with Brigette in charge.

Steve and I stayed at the Murcure in Albert Park. We had a very nice view of Lake Albert.

 The reason we went to Melbourne was to see the Musical, Once.



It was one of the best stage shows I have ever seen. I spent a lot of time listening to the soundtrack on YouTube in the weeks leading up to our holiday so knew the songs well. My favourite song would have to be Falling Slowly.



We arrived in Melbourne on Tuesday. Wednesday we had a sleep in and then went to town. We visited St. Patrick's Cathedral for Mass and then sat and prayed for a while after. After a late lunch we went back to the hotel and spent the evening there. \

Thursday we got up early and went out to see my uncle and aunt. They live in the eastern suburbs and we spent the day with them.

Thursday night was Once and on Friday we sat around most of the day at our hotel. It was nice to sit and relax and not have to do anything. After lunch, I ventured out on my own and navigated my way to Lincraft to look at fabric. they were having a sale and I would have bought a lot but I knew I had to get it back home and didn't want to have my luggage weighing more than was allowed.

Friday night we meet my cousin, his fiancée and a good friend that we haven't seen for years. We went to Lygon Street and I had one of the best lasagne's I have ever eaten.

 Here is the 5 of us. Steve, me and Daniel

Tom and Valentina. 

 Steve, me and Daniel. 

 Steve, Valentina, Tom and I. 

Valentina and Tom. 

After a nice tea we went to a chocolate shop for dessert. The dessert was very rich and filling. 

We had such a fun night this night. It was our last night in Melbourne and such a great way to spend it. 

We got back to a sick kid. Christopher picked up some bug while we were away so Sam had to take him to the hospital. We got back Saturday night. I spent the night at the hospital with him and we brought him back to Port Augusta on Sunday morning. 

It was a really nice break. So thankful that our older children are so willing to look after our younger children and give us a small break.  

Tasty Tuesday a day late.

Because Tuesdays are pretty busy, it is hard to get a post up. Yesterday was unusually extra busy but because I took all the photos to do this post, I just have to do it a day late. So here is my Tasty Tuesday post on Wednesday.

Pizza Wheels. 

Ingredients:

1 zucchini

1 red capsicum

1 green capsicum

1 440 can crushed pineapple

1 box of scone mix

pizza sauce

shredded ham

grated cheese. 

Directions:

Get a big bowl and put a colander inside. Cut the capsicums into small dice and place in colander. 

Grate the zucchini and add to capsicum. 

Next add the tin of crushed pineapple Mix it all together and put in the fridge while you prepare the dough. 

I mix the dough in my Bosco mixer. 

Once it is mixed nicely together, tip it onto a floured bench and kneed lightly. 

I cut one box of scone mix into 4 parts. I roll them out into a rectangle and place on baking paper.

Before I make up the wheels, I turn the oven onto 210.  

Now for the fun.. First put pizza sauce on dough. 

 Next put the shredded ham in the centre. 

 Place mixed vegetables on top of shredded ham. 

 Next put lots of cheese. I love cheese so I add it more than I probably should. 

 Next roll the dough up in a Swiss roll. 

 Keep rolling till it is a long snake. (This is what Joseph calls it at this stage). 

Cut the pizza snake  wheels into 12-15 and place in muffin trays. 

Place in  preheated oven for 12 minutes. 

This is what they look like when they come out of the oven. On Friday, I made 60 of them and this is what we have left. They are pretty popular.

For those of you with diabetic children, these pizza wheels have a carb ratio of 0.25. 

Madeline.

This is my eldest daughter Madeline. It is about 15 months since she moved from Port Augusta to Adelaide. In that time, she has really grown and matured and we have seen some really positive changes in her attitude and work ethic.

In 18 short days, she will fly to Thailand with International Volunteer HQ. She is going there for 3 months to teach English to young children.

When she told us at the beginning of the year that she wanted to do this, I really doubted she would be able to save the money and afford all the expenses living away from home. I have been pleasantly surprised that she has managed to do this. It has taken sacrifices and hard work but she has got there.

We will stay in touch via Skype while she is away and hopefully she will send some postcards to us. Mostly, I hope she keeps up blogging and records all her adventures. You can check out her blog here

Spring has sprung.

It is such a long time since I posted but I want to get back into blogging. This year has been particularly challenging in looking after all our children's health needs and keeping everyone happy and healthy.

Tom has had a hard year with his diabetes. Twice he has been flown to Adelaide with flying doctors with DKA. He decided he wanted to have injections each day instead of a pump. His hba1c has been going up up up and we had to change something to bring it down. MDI (multiple daily injections) seemed to be the best way to do this. Since he isn't on a pump, he tends to forget to have his injections and this is what has caused DKA both times. Since his last trip, Steve has been supervising his morning injections and bsl checks.

Amelia and Chris are still pumping and they are going pretty well with it. It has been challenging though getting the right basal rate for them both. I upload their pumps to the internet each week and their endocrinologist looks at their readings and emails me what needs to be changed.

Although it seems like it sometimes, diabetes is not the only thing going on in our lives. There has been plenty of good things happening.

In March, Daniel got engaged to a beautiful young lady, Angelique. Here is the family photo that was taken at their engagement party.

We are so happy that Daniel has found such a lovely girl to marry and we are all looking forward to their wedding in January.

In June, Amelia was confirmed by our Bishop. Here she is after the ceremony.

Angelique was Amelia's sponsor and it was a lovely ceremony.

This year, a lot of my friends have turned 50 and we have had 3 trips back to Adelaide for their birthday parties. The last one was one of our grooms men, Mark. While we were in Adelaide for his party, Steve and I went to Festival Theatre and watched Grease, The musical. It was a great afternoon and we really loved getting out on our own. Here is a photo of me outside door 11. That was the entry door for our seating.

The last bit of news which I am excited to share with you all is Brigette has her P plate licence. She will now be able to drive Tom and herself to school. It will help a lot to have an extra driver in the house.

Hope you are all well. Looking forward to catching up with all your blogs soon.

Therese.

New shorts.

When it comes to sewing, I always want to sew more than I have the time for. I have so much fabric from times that I have bought a whole heap and never got around to sewing. This year, I have decided I am going to work on all this fabric and what is left at the end of the year will go. The reality is, I just have too much clutter. I could keep it all till I have sewn it all but really, I need to have less clutter in my life.

To help me along with this, I have decided to post once a week, something sewn from my stash.

So here is this weeks shorts. I have a pair for Tom and a pair for Christopher. Hopefully, by the end of the week, I will also have a pair for Joseph.

23 years ago today.

Exchanging rings 23 years ago. 

. 

Amelia did a reading. 

Renewing our vows. 

Today Steve and I celebrated 23 years of marriage. It has been quite a ride but I am thankful for everything we have been through together and there is no other person I would rather have by my side to travel through with. 

Our parish priests came over this afternoon and we had a small ceremony. Amelia read from 1st letter to the Corinthians, we renewed our marriage vows and Fr. Paul blessed our ring with Holy water. 

I look back on that first picture and just remember how blessed I felt. I really was glad Steve had chosen me to be his wife and that he and I would spend the rest of our lives together. 

We have had some difficulties but never have I regretted my decision to accept Steve's proposal. With every storm we have travelled through, we have become closer and more committed to each other. 

I am so thankful that we have had the church to guide us and tell us what is right and wrong. I honestly don't believe our marriage would be half of what it is today without the teachings and God's grace from all the sacraments.

What we are doing this year.

Next week, school will be starting in South Australia. I thought I would go through everyone and let you know what we are doing.

Daniel, Sam and Madeline are all still living in Adelaide. Daniel has about 18 months to go with his teaching degree and Sam and Madeline are both working for Hungry Jacks still. Madeline has left fashion design and is thinking of studying creative writing. She was going to apply last year, but because she would have had to pay a late fee, I suggested she wait and she did. Maybe she will be able to do a mid year entry. Sam is also doing a management course. He is hoping to get some management position at some stage.

In Port Augusta, Steve is back at work as a permanent relief teacher. This year he is at a different base school though. His base school is the school he goes to when they don't need a reliever in any of the schools.

Brigette is starting year 11. She is hoping to do law when she finishes school so has some pretty challenging subjects. I am sure she will meet the challenge with the same success she has in the past.

Tom is going into year 9, Amelia into year 7 and Christopher into year 3. I expect they will all want to do Musical Theatre again this year and the boys will probably do Cubs and Scouts again.

Joseph will start full time Kindy this year and have 9 sessions a fortnight. He will go every Wednesday and Thursday for a full day and have a half day on every other Friday.

In term 4 last year, Joseph has one full day of Kindy a week. It was the first time, I had no children at home for 21 years. The day went really fast but I really appreciated having some time to myself. This year, I will go to the canteen on Wednesdays and have a day to myself on Thursday. I will miss having him around but time to myself is so rare these days, I really do appreciate it more and more.

Baking on Mondays.

Yesterday, I made banana muffins, chocolate muffins and fruit buns. Here is the Banana muffin recipe.

Sewing.

We have a couple of very hot weeks so since we need to stay indoors, I have been doing a lot of sewing.  These dresses
I have made for me. I don't think i have done so much sewing for me before.


I also made a couple of stretch knit tops but it doesnt look like I have taken any photos of them yet.


Next week will be the last week of the school holidays so I really should try and get some shorts sewn for them all to wear to kindy and school.

These

Photos of the lounge room

I posted these on my Facebook page a while ago but realised I had neglected to post them here so here they are.

I'm going to make some curtains that match our new style over the next few weeks.

St Catherine of Siena and a word for the year.

Faithfulness. 

After time in prayer and thinking about what I want to do this year, I have chosen St. Catherine of Siena as my saint for the year and faithfulness as my word. 

I have chosen faithfulness because I want to be more faithful to God, my vocation as a mother and wife and all the things that God is calling me to. 

It is my hope this year also to be a bit more faithful to blogging and following the bloggers that follow me. I do post a bit more at Facebook so that has limited my posting here but I want to do both this year. 

A year with 3 type one diabetics.

From this:

To This. 

Today is the Anniversary of Amelia's diagnosis. We will give a donation to Dr. Faustman and celebrate in some way. 

It has had it's challenges but I am glad that mostly our three diabetic children are relatively healthy. 

A Year in Review. Part two.

July. 

Madeline and Sam moved to Adelaide in July. It was a big adjustment for us all. I suddenly realised just how much I did for them because we weren't nearly as busy as when they were home. Daniel also went to World Youth Day in Brazil. He was away when Sam and Madeline moved into the house.

Daniel enjoyed WYD but got an infection in his foot on the way home. It was very painful for him and became very swollen while he was on the plane. Fortunately when he got back to Adelaide,  he was able to get antibiotics and recover from it. 

August. 

In August, I took Amelia to Adelaide to start pump therapy. Being the third child to go onto an insulin pump meant that I knew pretty much everything there is to know about it. It took us a few days to get her insulin doses right but over all we have been really happy with it. It was good to have them all on the same treatment. While Amelia was on daily injections, I found I forgot often to remind her to have lantus. It was just as well she was so reliable and often did it without reminding. 

September. 

September was Steve's last month of work for the year. He had 4th term of with long service leave. 

I started doing costumes for the girls in Christopher's musical theatre group and Steve started working on what he would do for renovations while he was home. He painted the back verandah and then started working on the wooden floor boards in our lounge. 

October. 

At the end of the October Holidays, Amelia went on Diabetes camp. Steve and I took the opportunity to get away on our own while she was there and left the boys and Brigette with Daniel in Adelaide. 

When we got back, Steve worked on the lounge just about every waking hour and I spent a lot of time sewing the costumes for Musical Theatre. 

November. 

November flew by and I was in a great hurry to get all the musical theatre costumes done. I think it was in November that I realised just how big a job I had agreed to and thought I had taken on something that was too big. I just decided to keep at it though and sewed in every spare minute I had. the first week of December was the week before the concert. I finished the costumes just one hour before the first concert on the Saturday night,. 

December. 

Once Musical Theatre was over, we started to prepare for our family holiday. Our older children were going to the Youth Festival in Melbourne and we decided to go along and take the younger children to see around Victoria and Melbourne. 

We visited Halls Gap, Bendigo, Melbourne, Geelong, Warrnambool and Millicent. 

It was a great holiday but we were all glad to get home. 

On Christmas day, my mother turned 80. 

We went back to Adelaide for Christmas and to celebrate my mother's birthday.Because we had been away for two weeks just before this, we only stayed in Adelaide for the two nights and came back. 

I hope 2014 will be just as good as this year has. 

Therese.

You can read part one here.