Our Changing World

We left the hospital after Elissah's Insulin pump activation and realized our lives had just changed!
We had been approaching that day with trepidation and excitement...
I had been weepy for days...let me explain.
My daughter has the appearance of being 'normal'...
I want her to be 'normal'.
With a device attached it makes her diagnosis more real...and she isn't so normal anymore.
(I should be used to this, as we have been dealing with this for 6 mo.)
I know God has a plan for her life, as he does mine, but I wont go into all that.
I want to share with you what a pump does as I feel many of you have absolutely no idea!
I know I didn't!

Its only been 24 hours, but we have already seen how much better controlled she is.
Because she is so small, she needs little insulin.  Less than a half unit per dose!
That is super small on a syringe!
With the pump we can give 0.025u.
Unbelievable!
The pump has  Bolus Wizard software.  That means I don't have to do the math!
One feature is, after her Blood Glucose is loaded to the pump via wireless connection from the BG meter,
 It gives us a suggested dose.
We than proceed and Act.  So simple!
It takes into account any active insulin she may still have on board.
So I wont have that 'stacking' affect of insulin which causes her to go too low!
After she eats we tell her pump how many carbs she may have eaten and the pump gives us a dose recommendation to infuse.  great huh?
Not only does the pump administer bolus doses, but a constant infusion of a low amount of insulin is being transferred at all times.  And she has 8 different time frames with different amounts of basal insulin being infused.  For example the amount being infused at night is at a lower rate than the amount during the midday or meal times.  That prevents her from bottoming out at night, or going real high around meals.
It automatically switches between the doses according to time frames.
When she is ill and her glucose is running high , we can program the basal rates to increase by a percentage for a temporary amount of time.
It is sooo amazing what can be done with this device!  We are amazed!
I'm so glad we don't have to use the 'poor man's pump' any longer!
(that was her 24 hour shots of long acting insulin)
Or give her multiple shots during the day:)
In 6 mo. she will be eligible to receive a sensor, that will give us a BG read out every 5 min!
So no more finger or toe pricking later this year:)
As far as the infusion site goes, they are like ports that we change once every 3 days.
The port is a tiny needle (smaller than her insulin syringes were)  attached to a butterfly-type adhesive circle bandage.  The second circular bandage is a safety.  If she were to yank on it, that would release first, and seal the tube.  That is also where we detach for baths or swimming.  Neat, huh?
There are alot of other cool features to her Medtronic mini-med Revel pump, but I just wanted to give the basics to help educate some people who haven't any idea how it works.

Dishwasher part 2

If you haven't read my first post about the Homemade Dishwasher soap, then you should read that here first.
It has the main recipe.
I have enhanced my recipe and want to update you~

First, my powders were clumping when I added the citric acid, I mean rock hard!
So now I have added a packet or two of the anti-caking packets found in vitamins and many other sources.
Works like a charm!
Second, I fill up my main detergent compartment to max, which is recommended for hard water.
I also shake some in the prewash compartment. I figure it cant hurt!
Third, The vinegar rinse is in a little cup on the top rack, and working out nicely.
I wonder how the vinegar washes out and the water remains?

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

I appear to be on a roll in regards to making my own cleaning products!  It's addicting!  I keep thinking, what else can I make?  What I love most about making my own is that they are phosphate free, free of dyes and perfumes, and super cheap!!  The other products I've done also work really well!  Bonus!
I recently made dishwasher detergent in powder form and I'm still making changes to get it right~

 Here is my recipe:
1 c. Borax
1 c. Washing Soda
1/2 c. salt ( I used coarse Kosher salt)
1/2 c. Citric Acid ( I used canning citric acid)

Use 1- 2 tbls of mixed powder per load.

Rinse Aid is 2 tbls. white distilled vinegar, and that is a crucial step!

Now mind you I've only used this recipe once...
 
My thoughts are:
1- It would work better with soft water. You wouldn't get a hazy film on glass ware...maybe.
Not all my glasses had a cloudiness left on them, just some.  And honestly most of them had that on there long before I tried this!  The Melamine plates I have are black, and I could see some haziness on them also.  However they aren't meant to go in the dishwasher anyway...
2- The dishes that got rinsed off beforehand, got cleaner! Really? No kidding?  So that is a must with this recipe, or you will be rinsing them off after you run them thru the cycle....
3- The Rinse Aid is something I've never used before (which is why my glasses always had a haze on them).
After some review online, the vinegar I put in the rinse compartment wasn't a great idea.  With repeated use, the acid in the vinegar can break down the rubber components in your rinse compartment.  The amount of vinegar that was released during rinsing wasn't sufficient anyway.  You really need about 2 tbls and the rinse compartment only releases a little squirt or splash at a time.  Even if you turn it to max, it still may not be enough.  One suggestion I found was to put a small cup of vinegar, face up on the top rack and run as usual.  So I will do that next time.
4- Alot of people complain about clumping when making homemade powder, but I didn't have that issue at all!  Maybe it was the salt? Maybe it was the citric acid?
5- I used the Citric acid from Ball in the canning section at Wegmans.  It has an anti-clumping agent already built in.  It was about $4.  And you use half the bottle.
 However, as you can see from the picture above the recipe makes almost jar-full, which I guessing will last a month or more??

Conclusion: We have hard water and this recipe isn't great for hard water.  From what I read, home made liquid detergent would be better.  I am lazy though and wanted to use what I had on hand, without too much fuss and spending any more money!  I will continue to keep using this recipe.  Its better than some other "green-cleaners" Ive used,   and some not "green" dishwasher detergents.  I should be rinsing my dishes off beforehand anyway, so this forces me to do that!  If I'm not happy after a few weeks, Ill try the liquid recipe.
 Hope some of you found this helpful!

Homemade Scour and All-purpose

Now that I make my own laundry soap and love it, I'm addicted and moving on to other cleaning supplies.

I hate to clean the tub!  I avoid it at all cost.  Until I found this recipe...

All-Natural Homemade Scouring Powder
2 c Baking Soda
1 c Borax
1 c Salt ( I use coarse salt)

I mixed it all together in a bowl and poured it into a large canning jar.
(next time I may pour the ingredients directly into the jar and shake to mix)
With a large gauge nail and I punched holes in the lid, as pictured in the image above.

To use, I sprayed vinegar on the tub first, then sprinkled the powder. Letting it sit for 5 min. It was cool to hear the reaction taking place between the vinegar and baking soda. (You would use vinegar for a more dirty tub, as opposed to one that gets clean weekly).    I thought about taking a before and after photo, but I'm embarrassed my tub was so bad...
I used a scrub brush, like the one above, but felt I was using too much muscle power.  When I switched to the scrub sponge the grime came off easy!  Ive never seen my tub sparkle so much!
I tried it on the tile surrounding the tub and it too came clean, even in the grooves of grout.
The Borax is an anti-fungal, which is why it does well on mildew.  In the wash load, or the wall!

Another quick- easy to make- cleaner that I use every day is:

All-Natural All purpose cleaner
1 tbls Baking Soda
2 tbls Borax
2 tbls Vinegar
4 c water

I keep it next to the sink in a spray bottle.  The mouth of the spray bottle is small, so you have to use a funnel for the ingredients.
What I love about it:
1- Its natural
2- really inexpensive
3- anti-fungal and anti-bacterial ( from the Borax and vinegar)
4- versatile!  You can add essential oils, like lavender, or tea tree oil.
 5- I love the way it makes my counter tops feel.  I was pleasantly surprised the first time I used it, and haven't looked back!  They are smooth and less 'stained' as a result of the baking soda.

I don't claim to take credit for any of these recipes.  I find them online at my favorite blogs, or google till I find one I want.  I've been reading the comments from others under the recipes, finding tips on clumping, prices, improvements, etc...
Here is the website I used: http://wellnessmama.com/1348/all-natural-homemade-scouring/

Stay tuned for the dishwasher detergent recipe I plan to use.   Just need a trip to the store for citric acid...