Whoops! I forgot

 I swear, I am the WORST blogger.  I finished Alex's Kindling Season and I even posted photos on Facebook but I totally forgot to blog about it.  Actually...that might not have been such a bad thing because I'm back to knitting things that I'm not allowed to share and if it weren't for this, I'd have nothing to show you.

I ended up making only two modifications to the pattern.  First, I worked four extra rows before I
put the sleeve stitches on hold.  That gave him a little more room in the underarms (I feel like I've already told you this... if so, pretend you're reading it for the first time, lol).  Second, I added 1.25" to the sleeves before working the cuff.  He has long arms (wonder where he got those).  Anyhow, he loves the sweater and the buttons that I got from Katie Wescott's etsy shop, Katrinkles. 

In other news, I'm busier than normal.  I know!  How is that possible?!  Well it is.  That makes me cranky and tired, and a lousy blogger, lol.  I find myself staring at a blank post (or tweet, or FB status update) and I just have nothing interesting to say.  I feel pulled in a very non-creative direction right now.  Maybe it's the Applied Statistics class, or maybe it's all of the appointments and follow-ups with the boys, or maybe it's the crushing weight of trying to stay on top of "all the things". 

I also find myself feeling completely disinterested in many of the things I usually like.  I can't find anything decent to watch on tv.  I don't know what to knit (for fun).  I want to talk to someone on the phone but I have nothing to say.  This isn't depression.  It's sleep deprivation.  I've fought this cycle before and I know what I have to do, but the pain in my back/neck isn't making that easy.  Neither is the long, long list of things that need to get done (the high priority list, not the stuff that can slide another week).  Neither is the constant need to play mediator to the men in my family, lest they kill each other and leave me to clean up that mess too, lol. 

And on that note, I've got to go in and finish putting away the groceries, breaking down the family pack of chicken before it goes in the freezer, mop my floors, clean the cat box, take the trash out, pick up my husband's prescription at the pharmacy, make sure the boys eat lunch, go make sure they're actually getting dressed like I told them to about 15 minutes ago, plan dinner, do homework, and later pick my husband up from the T-station in South Attleboro where I dropped him this morning at quarter-to-9 am.  Happy Mother's Day!

Spring

It's finally spring in New England and I got out into the weather to do a photo shoot for an upcoming design.  I had the best co-model in the industry to help me out.  You have to be careful when working with babies because they're scene stealers, lol.  Especially Clara. 

Turns out that Clara has learned how the cyclops game works.  You know.  You get really close to a baby so they can only see one eye instead of two.  Every time I brought it in, she did too, lol.  She's a pro.  Keep an eye out because she's heavily featured in the photos on this next design (and it's not for babies, lol).

Meanwhile, in the world, I've continued my efforts to become more organized.  So far it's a lot of work but I see an improvement.  I've begun to regularly take notes using an ap for my Kindle so I don't have to worry about where I put my list.  I have a lot of stuff to do every day and I rarely make it through my entire list, but at least I can keep track of it all and decide to change the order-of-importance as I see fit.  I also had the missionaries over this week to give me a blessing and I'm feeling much more confident in my abilities.  Sometimes you just need that little extra boost.

I also found a link to a Mormon Mom Planner.  I think this might just be the lifesaver that I need to get things fully under control, especially since it has places for all of the things I need to remember to do (the things most other planners don't allow me to track very well).  I'm very much a visual person so having sections for Family Home Evening and family scripture study right in the planner will be the visual cue I need to remember them.  I ordered mine as soon as I saw that the entire curriculum is included (because I'm always forgetting what lesson I'm on...ALWAYS!).  I'm really looking forward to this coming in the mail, lol.

And on that note, I have to go start dinner before Alex starts to rebel (more than usual).

Let's help Jonah get a diabetic alert dog

This my friends, is Jonah.  Jonah is 7-years old now and is living with Type One diabetes.  It sucks, and it's scary-dangerous.  Scary.  Dangerous.  And if you're anything like me, you probably don't know much about Type One diabetes.  You might think (like I did) that all you need to do is watch what you eat, test your blood sugar twice a day, exercise regularly, and your blood sugar will magically remain under control.  You may have no idea (like I had no idea) that this is only the best-case scenario.

Just a quick google for Type One (previously known as Juvenile Diabetes) pulled up an overwhelming amount of information that parents have to know.  For example, the American Diabetes Association website listed all of this information under 'Everyday', and this information under 'Safe at School', and this information under 'Managing Diabetes' (And did you see the sidebar where another mother discusses the fact that her child's school will not allow another staff member to provide basic care to her Type One diabetic child when the nurse if not on staff?!  I believe Amber's situation with Jonah at school is similar, but don't quote me.) 

Amber has to wake up several times a night, every single night, to test Jonah's blood sugar.  It regularly spikes to sky-high levels for absolutely no reason that they can think of.  They're doing everything they're supposed to be doing.  See this photo above?.. It represents three days of testing.  Only three days.

These black spots here?..they aren't dirty.  These spots on Jonah's fingers are from every single time that Amber has had to poke him to test his blood sugar in the last year of so.  It hurts every time.  These little fingers are only so big. 

Jonah needs a diabetic alert dog.  The dog would go everywhere he goes, including school.  According to the National Institute for Diabetic Alert Dogs website, the dogs are trained to smell the ketones that are produced by the body when blood sugar is too high or too low, and to alert the diabetic individual of the high/low.  This means that Amber can sleep more confidently, and be more confident that Jonah's sugar will be better managed at school.  In a recent conversation with Amber, she had this to say about the stress and emotional turmoil she and other families with diabetic children face:

"It's extremely difficult and I feel like it is a delicate balancing act. If you dose too much basically you could put your child into seizure or worse death, if you don't dose quite enough they run the risk of ketoacidosis and ultimately death... Or long term complications like heart disease, eyesight loss, amputation, dialysis... It's really A LOT to take in and such a huge responsibility especially when you are looking at the innocence of your child's face. My son has no clue about diabetes other than his pancreas doesn't work. The worst part is no down time. I can't even rest while he sleeps. The majority of people that die from this disease either die in their sleep or from ketoacidosis. I don't know if I will ever sleep again. Glad I slept a lot in my 20s. Lol"

So here's where we come in.  There is a fundrazr page established to help raise the money to defray the cost of a Diabetic Alert Dog for Jonah.  I'm going to up the stakes a little bit.  For the next 2 weeks, ever $5 you donate will get you a coupon for a free pattern from my Ravelry pattern store.  Any and every individual pattern in my store is eligible (e-books are not eligible).  Donate $10, get two free patterns; $15 dollars, get three patterns.  I think you get the idea here.  Simply email me from the link on contribution page and I'll send you the coupon code(s).  I know that it's not much but every single little bit helps and I think this is a great cause.  Help Jonah out, and I'll help your pattern collection out ;)