Wow! What a day!

Today was super fun! There is so much to show you! 

This was the boys' second flight of their lives! Traveling always seemed intimidating with Rocco's diabetes. Not even just the getting there but also the being there. Long walking parks, hot temps and junk food are the trifecta of a diabetic's worst day. However, flying is always fun! Big grins. 

Taking the safety talk very seriously. 

Here it was 10 P.M. last night. They were whipped! 

We got to the JW Marriott and the first thing we noticed were these Amazeballs chandeliers! 

For all my lady friends, I took another shot! 

11:30 P.M. Room service! First room service ever. 

Nighty night! 

What a view! 

Deep thoughts...

A quick run out for breakfast before our two separate days began. 

"Look mom this is where we'll be on Wednesday! The Capitol Building!!!" 

Things I never thought I would hear... 

JDRF Children's Congress Build-A-Bear and Lenny the Medtronic mascot! 

Future President taking a shopping break before his day begins. 

Time to go to work! 

"Wow! What's all this about?" 

Little man 

161 type one diabetic children all sang "Promise to Remember Me" with Crystal Bowersox an winner from American Idol!!

Meanwhile, little cutie and Dad taking in the sights! 

I love this one he looks so little! 

"Mom! We went to see where Abe Lincoln was shot!"

After spending their days seperatly, it was fun to see the two bear cubs compare notes and horse play in the pool! 

Tomorrow, Rocco is giving the Ford family (from Ford Motor Company!) an award to thank them for raising so much money for JDRF! They are the largest supporters this year! Also, we get to meet eleven celebrities that have or are related to people who have type one diabetes. Here's the line up! 

I am so proud of my little man! He has to come out of shell and be mature enough to handle the large responsibility of representing children from all over the world who live and thrive with Type 1 Diabetes, all the while be compelling enough to ask for funding. He won't understand what he is doing right now for another 10-20 years. But I am really excited to see the proud grin on his face when he does! 

Off to bed, I'll post more tomorrow! 

How are you going to change the world today?

A long time ago, I watched and episode of Oprah. She was interviewing Maria Shriver. Maria was speaking about how wonderful her parents were. She said every morning her dad would wake up the kids and one by one whisper in their ear, "How are you going to change the world today?"

At the time, I was desperately trying to have children and I memorized this idea. I thought it was so cool to empower children like that. Well, since then while most days start with "YOU GUYS STOP PLAYING THAT STUPID MINECRAFT AND GET DRESSED!" Once in a while I remember Mr Shriver and ask them the question.

When they were three and I whispered it to Zeke, he responded, "I'm going to love you more..." Beautiful Zeke.

Well, I can proudly say tomorrow morning, when I wake up my seven-year-old Rocco, I am going to whisper that question to him. He will be able to answer, "I'm going to Washington D.C. to meet with my Congressmen and tell them what my life is like with Type 1 Diabetes. Then, they will vote to renew the Special Diabetes Program that will cure diabetes for everyone."

WOW! Well, I am sure he will probably say, "I'm going to make a floating, glass house in Minecraft!" But he very well could answer what I said above! A girl can always dream...

Truthfully though, we are so excited to have an opportunity to help people with diabetes everywhere. Rocco amongst 164 other children will go to Capitol Hill and speak with their Congressmen. They will show them scrapbooks they made that tell their story of what it is like to live with this disease and to put a face to the paper that will help cure them all.

JDRF is simply amazing! This process has been handled so seamlessly. Getting one D kid on an airplane is monumental. Getting 165 of them and handling all their care during three days, deserves a Noble Peace Prize! Just amazing.

So, we are off tomorrow! We fly into D.C. later at night but I will be posting pictures along the way.

Keep checking Everyday Highs and Lows every day because I will be posting lots of pictures of the fun! Wish us luck! We'll get this done for you, your child and the thousands of others checking their blood sugar right now.

Here is Rocco's video that he made for the Children's Congress website!

Hey Everyday Highs and Lows, where the heck have you been???

Hi everyone, 

I am terribly sorry I took a month off of blogging but some major life changes have been  happening around here and I am whopped! 

Well first, as you know, this happened...

Then a bunch of this happened...

And once in a while, this happened...

AND THEN this happened!!!

So naturally, this happened...

So now I spend 40 hours a week here...

Instead of here...

The reason my new office has a dreamy haze is because it is just that - dreamy...

Now I spend my days in a clean, pretty office wearing fancy clothes and no one calls me mom. It's quiet. It's nice. However, it is sometimes lonely. but then I just remember how loud the boys are and settle back into my computer screen and take another sip! 

Because I am not home during the day anymore, I have changed couple of things while working.

1) Now, I get all my shopping done in one store. In one hour. There's not a lot of time for lolly gagging in Target anymore. I must look like a race car driver while I drive my very, full cart through the store at record speed during my lunch hour. Thank God Target has groceries! 

2) Dinner is confusing. I still can't figure out how to actually make it after work. Hmmm... I pass by about 30 places that look fabulous and a whole lot easier on the way home. 

3) Laundry, well... Laundry gets done a little differently than it used to. Let's just say I have one day to do it all (not seven anymore) and each load is a lot fuller than it used to be. Shhh... Don't tell anyone. 

4) Friends - I miss my friends. I miss my three hour lunches with them. I miss our conversations about our latest worries. I miss laughing with them. 

5) Husband - my husband deserves a medal! He truly has done everything I no longer can do simply because I am not in our house anymore. He even went shopping for his own clothes today instead of me buying everything and taking it back throughout the week. As Sweet Georgia Brown once said "Ain't nobody got time for that!" My hubby has the kids more than half the week now. His comfortable life has turned upside down. But he hasn't complained once. He's the best decision I have ever made. 

6) Work - thankfully, I absolutely love my job. The works comes easy to me because I used to do the same job in my LBK (life before kids). That made it a comfortable transition for me. The best part is I get to work for one of my very best friends. We have known each other for over 22 years and I respect her a ton. She is a great role model of a working mom that can do it all well. I hope to be like her one day. I love being productive and I have missed selling. It's a great job and I am lucky to get it. 

7) Daycare - this was the tough one. For seven years, I wondered how would I ever go back with two small kids? Then I wondered for the past 5 years, how will I ever go back with a kid who has diabetes?  Let me just say the power of D-moms is extraordinary! My wonderful friend who has twins (one with diabetes and one without) offered to watch them Monday - Wednesday. What luck! She is used to highs and lows and is a wonderful mom! My boys now play with her boys and everyone is happy! Thanks to her wonderful care of the boys, I can be at work and not be constantly worried. 

On Thursdays, they are with their grandparents. They are learning to golf and taking swim lessons! They have all been having so much fun together. It is so nice for them to bond without their parents involved. I think it's super important for kids to have their own relationship with their grandparents, if possible. I believe grandparents can teach children how to navigate their own moral compasses. I feel happy for the boys to have three wonderful, very involved grandparents. On Friday, they are back with Michael as he makes his way through neighborhood kids, cleaning, cooking, and most importantly training a puppy. He has been amazing through it all. 

So, it has been a busy month and it's all about to get a lot busier. 

On July 7, we are off to Washington DC to have Rocco speak to his Congressmen on Capitol Hill! We are so incredibly thrilled to be part of the JDRF Children's Congress 2013! Rocco even gets to present a plaque to the Ford family for their generosity of raising money for JDRF throughout the past year! What an honor! 

My plan is this. I want to share the entire experience with you! Through pictures and posts, I am planning on blogging and tweeting a couple of times a day. I will post each day during the event on our Everyday Highs and Lows Facebook page. So, if you'd like to see all the DC fun and haven't signed up for our Facebook page, do so here at www.facebook.com/everydayhighsandlows.  If you have signed up to be a member on this website (you can see yourself on the right side of this screen under Members), you will probably get a lot of emails from me in two weeks. Hope that's ok! 

So, that's about it! I will do my best to keep writing a lot. Thanks for being patient with me as I find my groove as a working mom. I have lots of funny stories of stuff that has already happened. I'll put them down soon and send 'em out as soon as Shay stops getting into everything! As always, thanks for your support and most importantly your love! 

What's cute at 7 pounds is not cute at 70 pounds!

"Whaaaattt?"

Sleepy puppy!

Today, I was cleaning the kitchen. I lost sight of Shay. I couldn't find her anywhere! But then I finally spotted her... 

Sleepy puppy... 

I do again!

Fifteen years ago, I married the man of my dreams! He knows how to care for both boys for a whole weekend, check a three a.m. blood sugar, do a port/site change, count some carbs, play with the boys and count again, and love me all while doing it. Funny, when I met that scrawny, smiley, REM-loving cutie, at the time I was only interested in him for his great hair! My, my! He sure did come with WAY more great qualities than good hair! Happy Anniversary Honey!  I am the luckiest girl! 

Shay Day!

My hubby and I have been together for 21 years. We have been married for fifteen! So, when he asked me what I might want for our big one-five anniversary he threw out some suggestions - a trip to a tropical beach, a diamond, etc... 

"I want a puppy!" I said, sounding like a six-year-old. 

"A puppy????" he asked surprisingly. 

"Yes! A puppy!" 

"Hmmm... A puppy? Really?" he questioned one more time as he scrunched up his nose.

Then he said, "Are you sure you don't want a diamond? It would be WAAAAYY easier!" 

So, I researched and found the place! We put a deposit down in December. Then, we waited. We waited some more. I have never been one for waiting. 

Then! Yesterday! Was! The! Day! We got to bring our new girl home!! 

Here is a synopsis of life according to Shay! 

"Um, hello. My name is Shay, I guess..."

"Wait! Where am I going?" 

"This kid's nice but really, where am I going?"

"Wait! Why are we moving?" 

"Ok, this motion actualllllyyy feeeeeelllsss niiicccee..." zzzzz....

"WHAT IN THE HECK?"

"OMG... Seriously?" 

"Um, well... Ok..."

"Hey kid, could you please put me down?"

"This one seems nice!"

"Tug of war is TOTALLY fun!"

"Excuse me lady. Could you please stop laughing and put the camera down and um, I don't know... GET ME OUT OF THESE BARS!" 

"Whaaattt? I'm a dog. We get dirty. Oh, and please do not put me back in that God forsaken sink. Seriously, I mean it!" 

"I. LOVE. THIS. BONE. Yum! Yum!Yum!" 

"AHHHHHH!!!! What the HECK is that?" 

"Got it! Weeee!"

"Man! This all so tiring..."

"A little to the left, please."

"Ok, I seriously looovvvveee this guy..."

"Alright Stan from the "oh-so-special" Disney Channel. 

Looks like you are not the only dog with a blog. Because I made up my mind today. I'm officially staying with these people which gives me total access to my own blog." 

As for me, I love her! We all do! She fills the silence that my beloved King left behind. 

The only thing is, my hubby was right for the 100,000 time in our fifteen years of wedded bliss. A diamond would have been easier!