I told Kailyn about this today

The Artificial Pancreas
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-06-28-diabetes28_ST_N.htm

She was excited beyond belief and asked, "so I could eat and drink and not have to prick my finger all day".  Not even flinching at the fact that she would still have to wear a device and still have to prick, but the possibility of eating without thinking about it was thrilling to her.  I am more excited about the catching the highs and lows and tighter blood sugar controls.  I told her because it is going to be available in a few years (it will become a reality) and it will give the walk she plans to do in the fall even more meaning. JDRF is the non-profit doing the research for the technology.

Houston, I think we have a compromise.

We have been talking about the inevitable with Kailyn for a long time. Her sister is going to share her room with her.  She has big dreams of moving into our room, but I am not sure if it will ever happen.  She even made a king size bed in the middle of the room over the garage and said that her father and I could sleep there.  All we would need to do is put some wood up and get a rug and we would be good to go. LOL

We could make the playroom into a bedroom, but no one wants to move down there.  They are more than willing to let Keira have that room (willing to throw her to the wolves), but I am not too keen on having my baby on a different floor than me.  She sleeps next to me in a Pack and Play now. Moving a room over would be the first and only logical step.(for me at least)  
So, Kailyn and I were looking at Bunk Beds.  She, of course, wants the one for $1,000 from the Pottery barn. We get those lovely magazines all the time and I oooh and ahhh at them as the kids shout out what they want.(in their dreams)   Well, today I decided to check out the Ikea website.  We are about 2.5-3 hours from the nearest store, but from what I hear, it is well worth it to go.  Even if you just go to look.  Kailyn balked at the metal frames at first and said she liked the Pottery Barn ones much better until she stumbled upon this:

Its a double bed loft with a desk and a full shelf above the desktop. (hard to see) All we would need to get is a chair (in her words) I also told her we would need to get a mattress. Here is a link: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S59872897
She could keep all of her belongings under her bed and have even more storage for knick knacks under the desk. Kailyn likes her "stuff".   Keira would not be allowed to store anything over there and would use the bed and shelf Kailyn uses now and the desk would go into Sam's room.  They both would have their own dressers as well.  There would be a virtual line on the floor in the room and in the closet.  Keira would have to cross Kailyn's line to get to her side of the room, but I am sure Kailyn will let her have an easement.  Sounds fantastic to Kailyn for now and I probably will get the usual "I don't want to share my room" with the new plan in the morning.  However, we will do our best to make sure she still has her space and I think this is a wonderful idea she came up with.  I think telling her it is made in Switzerland was the icing on the cake. ;)

We are spoiled

We get yummy home baked meals from Grammie a couple days a week.  This is very helpful because I am still recovering from child birth(yes, I know, she is 8 months old). Right now we get a fish and a Mexican meal just about every week. Tonight was beef Enchilada's from a Mexican cooking light magazine with corn on the cob and rice and beans.  Keira had her first stab at rice and beans tonight and LOVED them.  This was after she begrudgingly ate sweet potatoes with rice in it because she was so hungry. She has had plain rice, but not with beans mixed in. Now that she has had crackers and other things she demands to have the good stuff.  I swear she was using her own sign today to tell me she wanted crackers and not the sweet potatoes. She kept looking at me opening and closing her thumb and finger just like she does when I give her a cracker. Once she gets that pincher grasp down I see almost no baby food going into her mouth. (If any)  Right now she is staring down her Daddy's Shipyard Summer Ale. Sorry, its not happening kid!!!
Thanks for all the yummy food Grammie!!!

Milestone in Artificial Pancreas

I thought this was blog worthy.
This is not a cure, but it would mean a much better quality of life for Kailyn
and other Type 1 Diabetics like her. Its the closets thing to a cure and a major breakthrough.
I need to research to find out when they are going to have these potentially ready so we can be first in line.  Hopefully it happens before the teen years.

http://bit.ly/c4cQmo

I guess we need to get our walking shoes broken in for the JDRF walk in September so we can raise money and get this project on the road.

VBS High Seas Expedition

The Kids LOVED It and Sam Did not realize it was going to end. :)

They are already talking about next year.

Here they are practicing their moves.