Endo Visit & Diabetes Candy Exchange

We just had our 3 month endo visit on Tuesday. Grace's A1C remained at 7.1. Yes, I am fully and well aware that that is a 'good' A1C, but I am used to 6.6, 6.8 and even 6.4's. And I so wanted to 'do better' this time around, as her A1C 6 months ago was also 7.1. Then again, I know that I should be thrilled with 7.1. Her growth hormones are beginning, we are starting early puberty and had some uber-highs, from the hormones and from our knock-down-drag-out battle with Apidra. That's chronicled here.

I chalked it up to 'It's good, but we can do better.' And just to put it out there, that is HARD for me. Usually when I do and try my best, I get my best. And maybe this IS our best. Frankly, maybe this is rock-your-socks-off-no-one-else-could-that best, but it doesn't FEEL like MY best, if that makes any sense at all from my twisted mind.

A1C does freakin things to your mind. It's not a grade, yet it IS a grade.
Hell with it.
We will do our best and see how we fare in 3 months.
That's all I can do.

We attempted the Bayer A1C test. What a bust that was. Apparently, we did not have enough blood to do the test. We filled the 'blood filling device' to its brim, but the A1C device gave out a code after 5 minutes that there was not enough blood. Big disappointment. I am saving the other test in the kit for our 3 month endo appt in February.

Look - here's us following the darn directions!
And waiting 5 minutes for the test to end.

The code that says 'not enough blood.'

It was a completely diabetic day on Tuesday, as we had our annual Diabetic Candy Exchange at our local hospital. You can read about last year's 2010 Candy Exchange. Once again, it was fabulous!

Grace brought her bag of candy that she did not like to the exchange. She kept 'the good stuff' as she puts it. She forked over the rest. They carted away tons and tons and tons of candy that the kids brought in. Literally, wagons of candy. I, of course, scooped out the fun size little bags of Skittles - what diabetic throws them away? They bring you up from a low baby! I put my hand right in that giant bag and scooped them out. Grace was embarassed. I wasn't. Any one of you D-Mamas would have done the same thing!

They had pizza, of course. Grace and I chose the hospital cafeteria food instead. They had booths, a pumpkin carving man, raffles for the kids to enter, and of course, face painting.

Grace needed the swirls on her face.

And they rocked my gal's favorite thing - CRAFTS!!!!

And girl, did she ever go to town on the letter bracelets and necklaces.

They totally cracked me up.

Here is Grace's:

Here is the one she made me:

Here is the one she made our OmniPod rep, who had a table there: