#iamthetype

I haven't shared this on here so I thought it was time to help raise awareness... On Dec. 9th 2013, Grant was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 7.  It was a shock to our family as there is no family history of Type 1.  It has been a lifestyle change for everyone in our house because life does centre a bit more around Grant than it did before.  I am so proud of how Lauren and Ben took on the role of caregivers for Grant when Todd and I were not around.  There was a lot to learn from, recognizing lows and highs, to counting carbs, giving needles, checking blood sugar, checking for ketones and I am sure there are more little things I am missing.

Getting his glucometer ready to check his blood sugar which he does about 6 - 12 times a day depending on his activities

 

Checking his blood sugar level
                                      

 

                                                          Happy with a good reading!

 The most common question people ask me is, how did you know to take him to the doctor?  The first sign for me was his water bottle was empty when he came home from school and I asked him about it and he said yes he drank it all and even refilled it at the water fountain.  One night that week before he was diagnosed I heard him up to pee in the night and I asked if he wanted to sleep with me because Daddy was away.  I had a hidden agenda because I wanted to see how many times he was getting up.  Well the news wasn't good, he got up 4 more times that night!  The tell tale sign for me was when he went to hockey on Saturday he couldn't make it through the hour of ice time without coming off to go to the bathroom. 
 
I took him to the walk-in clinic and he peed in a cup and I heard the diagnosis I didn't want to hear, but knew in my heart that I had known all that week, but was in denial.  The guilt then set in that I didn't take him sooner, but I wasn't ready to hear those words.  I knew it meant a lifetime of finger pokes, needles, checkups, highs and lows, living our life on a stricter schedule.  Thankfully, we still caught it early even though I waited those couple of days.  They credited me to bringing him so quick because no damage was done.  The doctors and nurses didn't know the turmoil that was going on in my head. 
 
Well life before Type 1 is a distant memory after a year and a half of living with it in our family.  I credit that all to Grant who is an amazing boy!  Days that he should complain, he doesn't!  Testing before hockey, before lunch, at birthday parties are all teaching moments for him.  He is proud of who he is and uses those moments to share with new and old friends what he has to do everyday to stay healthy. 

                                            

Getting his needle ready for his insulin injection

 

His thigh is one of the sites we use for his insulin injection

I am the strong and independent type!

 

I will share more of what life is like living with T1D periodically.  It is always changing for Grant as he grows.  I scrapbooked a couple pages on Grant's journey with T1D so he will know when he grows up how courageous he was at age 7 when faced with this life changing illness.

 

#iamthetype who will love and care for Grant

#controlfreak

 

 

 

Warmly,

Beth (and Grant's Mommy) 

Simple Pleasure Designs by Jennifer Fehr - Get to know her!

I have loved getting back into designing again!  Thank you to Jennifer Fehr who invited me to design on her Creative Design Team for Simple Pleasure Designs!  I am loving her designs and creations!  I am inspired to create!

Created with Real Life Grunged FREE Mini Kit

Jennifer is being featured on Real Life Scrapped and she has a beautiful mini kit as a FREE gift!  Real Life Grunge is a sweet little kit with 38 pieces and she also has a Fan Freebie.  And to add to all of this sweetness she is offering a SALE of 30% off her entire site! Pop over to Real Life Scrapped to get your 30% off coupon!  

Check out Jennifer's story and her designs!  I love seeing what she is going to create next and I love that I can call her my friend!  

Here is the preview for Real Life Grunged, you know you want it!  

You can see more pages created by Jennifer's Design Team on her facebook page - Simple Pleasure Designs by Jennifer Fehr.

I can't wait to see what you have designed with her kit so please visit my facebook page Making Memories, Capturing Moments - Beth Thomander and start posting your pages!  

Enjoy!!! 

Big Sunglasses!

"The bigger her sunglasses are, the more manicures she requires and the more complicated her brunch order is going to be."

I saw this quote on a friends facebook timeline and it describes Lauren perfectly!  I just knew I had to do a layout with this quote and I remembered I just took a photo of her with her Christian Dior sunglasses that cover half of her face!

 Well Lauren has only gone for manicures a couple of times, but she doesn't have to as she can do an awesome job herself!

This manicure and pedicure I have to give credit to Sandy at All 4 U Esthetics!  She did an awesome job!

As for her brunch order, well her ice cappuccino order is complicated enough!  Medium caramel ice cap made with chocolate milk instead of cream because they fill it more when they use chocolate milk and you might as well put in a large cup so it doesn't overflow and can you ask that girl to make it because she does it better and can you put some whip cream on top and do you really have to charge me the extra! Well I might have exaggerated that a bit but she is pretty particular about her ice cap!!!

I designed this page with Simple Pleasure Designs by Jennifer Fehr using her new kit Vintage {Sugar}!  I LOVE all of the sweet elements in this kit!  Can't wait for it to be released so you can all enjoy it as well!  COMING SOON!

You can shop now in Jennifer's store to pick some of her other beautiful designs!  I love her Disney inspired Magical Moments kit.  I will post some pages soon featuring this kit!

Simple Pleasure Designs   link for your shopping pleasure and to browse her wonderful gallery!

Have fun!!!

Designing Again!!!

I am so excited to share that I have started designing again!  My friend Jennifer Fehr from Simple Pleasure Designs asked me to join her Design Team to create digital pages. Well I jumped at the opportunity!  I love designing and it inspired me to work more on my own pages.  It doesn't just inspire me to work on my pages, it does something for my entire being to be creative.  I had no idea how much I missed designing until I started again.  Thank you Jennifer!!!

Jennifer has an elegant style in her designs and they are a pleasure to work with!  I am sharing my first frame cluster that I designed for her freebie collection.  The link is here for you to enjoy downloading the freebie for your own collection.  The Vintage Inspired Collection is beautiful and so much fun to use to create pages!  Check out Jennifer's designs also on her Simple Pleasure Facebook page 

Here is the page I completed with the frame cluster:

Get your free frame cluster here:  Vintage Inspired Freebie #3

ENJOY!!!