Life Is Short, Laundry Is Eternal has won a Mom's Choice Award!

This is quite an honor!

More details next week.

Health Canada Approves DexCom G4

DexCom announced yesterday at their May 1, 2013 Earnings Conference Call that...

"On the international front, we are pleased to report that we have received approval from Health Canada to begin marketing the G4 system in Canada. Our initial approval is for adults only. However, we expect to file supplements seeking pediatric approval later this quarter. Our distributor in Canada expects to commence a limited launch at the beginning of Q3 with the full launch commencing before the end of Q3"

Congratulations to my Canadian friends who have been patiently waiting to use DexCom's G4 system!

Mother's Day Giveaway

Enter today for the chance to have your mother receive a copy of Life Is Short delivered to her door in time for Mother’s Day! One winner will receive a personalized book and Mother’s Day card from the author, you get to choose the message! 

All you need to do to enter is choose two items from the share list and complete them. Then comment on this blog post and tell me which two share items that you completed. Please don't forget to enter your name and email address when you comment. You can enter the giveaway once each day from now until May 8, 2013 at midnight eastern time. Apologies, but this time the giveaway is only open to U.S. Residents.

share list

• Post this image on FaceBook and tell others about the contest
• Become a site member on Arden's Day
• If you've already read and enjoyed my book... leave a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, GoodReads, iTunes or your FaceBook page.
• Call your mom and tell her that you miss and love her
• Purchase Life Is Short, Laundry Is Eternal and then give it as a gift
• Share this page on Pinterest
• Tweet this image to your twitter followers or post on Tumblr along with the message "I just entered to win Life is Short, Laundry Is Eternal for my mom #book #giveaway"

U.S. Residents only. I promise to overnight the prize to your mom on May 9 (but I don't control the mail). We are using the honor system about your shares but don't be surprised if someone checks. As always, Arden picks the winner from a hat.

Update on Sunday, May 5, 2013 at 9:44AM by Scott Benner

ADDED on May 5 at 9:45 am est.

Now the winner and their mother will receive a personalized book!

Update on Thursday, May 9, 2013 at 8:52AM by Scott Benner

And the winner is...

Your Favorites: April 2013

Your Favorite Arden's Day Content from April 2013 was...

On the blog

On Sale Now: My first book, 'Life is Short, Laundry Is Eternal'

DexCom G4 Platinum: Second Look

Pooh. Gilly. Bear.

OmniPod Rash?

Many other posts received similar attention to this month's top four - thank you for reading!

facebook

This picture received the most 'likes' during April on the Arden's Day FaceBook page

This post was seen on more timelines then any other...

"Thank you to every member of the DOC for supporting my book... I know that there are far more then just the names you see here. #HeartWarming

Life Is Short, Laundry Is Eternal arrives in stores today."

twitter

The tweet that you retweeted the most was something that started out as a way to amuse myself but a lot of you got behind it - which I really love and appreciate!

C’mon @Oprah just look… You’ll love it.  Can I get some RTs from readers! http://t.co/QE9CCZKoOB

It was accompanied by this image

I've only been doing these end of month favorite post for three months, however...

Arden's Day has experienced growth in both page clicks and unique users every month for the last eight consecutive months! I'm touched, humbled, and happy that you are enjoying the site.

I've said this before but it bears repeating, thank you for the incredible support that you have shown both by reading my blog and buying my book. I genuinely don't know how to properly say thank you... 

On to May!

Sesame Chicken you Motherless $%&^@

It was a long Sunday and the nights hours were burning away quickly. We just wanted to have a fast and easy dinner when we made the call. It ended up being anything but.

I pre-bolused. I counted carbs. I over-estimated those carbs. I set temp basal rates. I did everything that I know how to do and two hours later, it appeared as though my foresight had won the battle. Arden's BG was 150 two hours after insulin and some ninety minutes after she finished eating. I was victorious!

That victory was however, short-lived - Chicken and rice... not so nice

The next few hours were a slugfest. I traded punches with diabetes all night. It hit me in the jaw, a countered with a bolus. It responded with a gut punch, I shot insulin with a needle. Uppercut, water bottle. Jab, Temp basal. We went back and forth like two prize fighters in a ten round fight. This exchange went on until four in the morning, I was staggered by the unrelenting nature of the attack. Defeated physically as well as spiritually.

We just wanted a number four with dumplings

It's so incredibly frustrating at times. The old diabetes adage really does stand true. You can do everything that you did the day before in the exact same situation and get completely different results. We don't make a habit out of Chinese take-out, but I was certain that I had developed a great system for combating those crazy carbs. Not on this night I guess, my best laid schemes failed me.

 

But little Mouse, you are not alone, In proving foresight may be vain:

The best laid schemes of mice and men

Go often awry

The most difficult part of staying up overnight in these situations isn't the loss of sleep, though that did eventually catch up to me. It's the stillness of the dark and how it allows you the time to reflect on what the high BG is doing to your child's body. The darkness makes me want to be better. Do better, make better decisions. I do a fair job of not beating myself up in these moments, I try to learn their lesson. Knowing that you are standing in the dark with me helps keep that attitude in the forefront of my mind. We are only alone in these moments if we forget that somewhere, there is another person just like us, having the same doubts, fighting the same fights. The DOC is always with you!