When it rains it pours... and then the sun comes out!

I've been debating about making this next bit of news public. Some people already know (mainly family and church members) about this new "development" in our family. We discovered this when Omar's mom was already being hospitalized with CHF aka congestive heart failure. She went into the hospital because she was having trouble breathing and we were given that as the cause. The following weekend, Omar finally decided to "allow" me to take him to urgent care. This particular weekend, I also happened to be sick with congestion and a sore throat so the LAST thing I wanted to do was go sit in urgent care with my husband whom I had been trying to get there for the past 2 weeks. Nevertheless, I took him. We both expected a simple diagnosis of a bladder infection and then we'd be along with some antibiotics and some cranberry juice. Unfortunately, that's not what happened. Instead, he was hooked up to an IV, given 2 doses of insulin and told that he had Type 2 Diabetes. Say what?! His sugars were over 500, 110 being the norm. 6 hours later, we were on our way with a prescription to help lower and control his blood sugar, an appointment with our primary doctor and an entire shock as our lives as we knew it HAD to change IMMEDIATELY! Now... Omar was a tad scared and unsure about how he was to go on. How/when was he going to tell his mom? We both agreed that not until she was in the clear and at home would we tell her. I saw this diagnosis as a blessing in disguise. Because now he HAD to take better care of himself, otherwise I'd be left a widow before his 30th birthday. He HAD to eat the healthy food that I bought and he hated. He HAD to eat the salads that I would make, he HAD to go for walks with me, he HAD to actually use his gym membership and he HAD to pay attention to the food labels on his favorites. It's been a little over a month since we found out and for the first time in that month, we got his blood sugar under 90. I've really enjoyed buying the "good" stuff. It may be a little more pricey but we're talking about our health here. Our lives are at stake. My kids, who carry this gene, need to learn starting NOW what is good for them and what is not allowed in our house. What daddy can have and what daddy cannot have. For me, this is something that I've wanted for a LONG time. It just sucks that it came to this. But I'm glad we're working together to beat it. He was told that if he works hard at it, this diagnosis can be reversed within a couple years. And that is the goal. So far, he's been doing soooo well. He's back at work, he's making good decisions for his health and his family. He's squeezing in exercise at work and he's reading more and more about how to deal. My dad also has Type 2 Diabetes so we've been in cahoots with him with little questions about what to do if.. or how do we do this. My best friend is also a dietician in training, so I've been constantly texting her about what alternative sugars are better, where can I find this, etc. Everyone has been really helpful and supportive throughout everything. I'm also happy to report that his mom was discharged from the hospital and is now at home! She's been put on oxygen for a month just as a pre caution and was told that she cannot have any salt in her diet. So in addition to also being diabetic, she's now salt free. You can bet that our Thanksgiving this year will be TOTALLY different than anything we've ever done, but I am up for the challenge.

As for the kids... they're getting smarter and smarter everyday. Landon never ceases to amaze me and reads pretty much all the time and everywhere we go. Ava had a rough start as she started to regress a little bit as soon as I started helping out in her class because she wanted my attention all the time and got super jealous whenever I was helping out another group and therefore would "forget" how to write her name. Super annoying for me because I KNEW she knew how but ya know.. she's a mama's girl. Anyway, so she's back on track now.

Last week was full of Halloween festivities, first was our ward trunk or treat. This was our first trunk or treat in our home ward and it was awesome! From the decorations to all the amazing costumes that the kids and even some adults had. There was TONS of chili and corn bread and plenty of desserts. It was too bad that I was on a downward spiral to some kind of awful sickness. I was totally achy and tired and just wanted to hide under the table the whole time. But, I stuck it out for the kids who had been waiting all week for it. We decorated the bed of the truck with our pumpkins and webs and giant pumpkin candy holder that I have ZERO pictures of as Omar had my phone while I was setting it up. Landon won best super hero costume though! And the kids got a ton of candy! So much fun. The next day, Ava's class was having a "Celebration of Reading" party.. apparently Halloween is too controverisial to call it a Halloween party. Anyway, I was put in charge of that whole thing, so I called all the parents that consented to be contacted for parties and asked them to bring a bunch of snacks, trying to keep this as healthy as we could. And wouldn't you know it, I woke up feeling like death after that trunk or treat so I dropped off the kids and dropped off what I was in charge of bringing and pretty much told one of the other mom's that she was going to have to take this one for me. I had a fever and I wasn't 100% confident that I wouldn't vomit all over everyone. She gladly accepted and I got the heck out of there. So I have no pictures of that little shin dig. Landon's class also had a little party that I missed as well. AND THEN... it was Halloween night. I told Omar earlier that day that he was going to have to take one for the team and take the kids trick or treating by himself. He didn't mind as our kids are easy and as soon as they get candy, they want to be done. ;) However, they STILL ended up coming up on candy as our neighborhood was short on trick or treaters but not on houses willing to give candy, so they were giving heaping handfuls to my kids. They're pumpkins were completely filled. So now we have 2 giant freezer bags FULL of candy and a diabetic in the house, poor Omar. I would have gone after it already had it not been for this awful sore throat that I'm finally starting to shake.

On Saturday we celebrated Jake's 23rd birthday... I know right. He'll forever be 9. We went over for a nice dinner and ice cream cake, a family favortite. The kids also got into some face paint apparently supposed to be zombies courtesy of Courtney ;)

We also did Disneyland! How could I forget.. well it was like a month ago now. Right when the trick or treat with Mickey started, I just never posted pictures ;) This was our first time to this event and it was sooooo worth it. We like to do Disneyland once a year and typically go in March or April however this past year we couldn't because we had just bought the house. However when I saw that these tickets were significantly cheaper than day passes, I jumped on it. We did more in the 7 hours that were there than in an entire day because 80% of the people there were getting candy at the candy stations. I asked the kids if they wanted to wait in the lines and do that or go on rides. They made the smart choice of ditching the candy and riding on the rides. We pretty much walked onto everything. We even did the Matterhorn, and when do you ever walk on that ride? NEVER! Afterwards I felt like I needed a back adjustment, it had been YEARS since I was last on that. Never again lol.

So as you can see we've done a lot and been pretty busy! Up and coming are the kids primary program, birthday parties all over the place, and Thanksgiving!! Which I still have to figure out, ha! Ours is going to be completely healthy and awesome and for that I am excited! Christmas is also around the corner (eeek!) and I am totally unprepared for that. Our 7th anniversary is also a month away. CRAZY!! Where has the time gone?!