| See Contest Below for Details |
Now that type 1 diabetes camp is over, I can officially declare it to be SUMMER in the Naturally Sweet Sisters house. Living in the northern part of the US, with school ending mid-June and camp following closely after, it seems like we can't really get a good start on vacation until July. Which, ironically is about the same time back-to-school supplies appear. But who wants to think about that?
Did I mention that I LOVE SUMMER??????? Whoot!
Let me tell you what I think the greatest part of summer is. To me, this is the one time of year that we are not forced to adhere to a rigorous school schedule and I can actually stop stressing about my children's blood sugars. If they feel low, they can test their blood sugar and grab a snack without interfering with anything. If I feel like they might be low, it is less daunting that trying to text or send the aide a note, all we need to do is look at Sigums (CGM) and see which direct the arrow is going.
It is so relaxed that I can almost feel the tension melting and the years rolling back.
Well, OK.... it isn't that magical, but you get the idea.
Best of all, we can spend the days making it up as we go. Want more time at the beach? Not a problem, dinner can be a few minutes later than normal. After all, summer is a very short season around here. We might as well make the most of it that we can!
One way to shorten up the time spent on type 1 diabetes care is to employ a few summer vacation helpful tricks:
1.) Pre-measure snacks into plastic 'to-go' baggies that are labeled with the amount of carbs using a Sharpie marker. This is perfect for impromptu zoo, hiking or beach trips. Even on bike rides around the block. Snacks keep kids safe!
2.) Keep one or two emergency infusion set changes, extra needles or testing supplies in the car, the beach bag or even at the office. Having supplies ready to go in a pinch is a great asset that reduces stress and time! Makes me remember the time we were on our way to visit Cedar Point Amusement Park and realized that we had left behind the diabetes bag. Not a problem as my husband was smart enough to keep a bag of goodies at his work. What a super hubby! He literally saved the day!
3.) Consider using a PortionMate measuring tool for dinner. Hand the colorful, fun cylinders to your children before dinner starts and let them calculate the amount of carbohydrates that they will be eating. Kids (or adults) can simply spoon in the meal items into the pre-measured PortionMate cylinders and be ready to go before you are even seated.
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| PortionMate, A meal and snack measuring tool. |
4.) Swimming or playing outside all day? Think ahead to easy to grab and eat bedtime snacks. Have things like yogurt, individual 1/2 cup icecream servings or single serve peanut butter tubs ready to go. Allowing the kids extra outdoor time means that they will be asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.
Well, from one parent to another... we hope that happens, anyway!
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| Win a Free PortionMate!!!! |
To help make your summer more enjoyable, PortionMate, INC. has offered to provide TWO Naturally Sweet Sister Readers with a free set of PortionMate, INC. cylinders and recipe/guidebooks.
Two lucky readers (US and CANADA) will win via a random drawing that must be entered by Saturday, July 6th, 2013, by 11:59 a.m..
TO ENTER THE PORTIONMATE, INC CONTEST:
1.) Head over to PORTIONMATE's FACEBOOK PAGE AND "LIKE" THEM. CLICK HERE.
2.) LEAVE A COMMENT ON THE WWW.NATURALLYSWEETSISTERS.COM BLOG PAGE. CLICK HERE.
(You may enter only 1 time. Please be sure to leave the comment on the blog page as that is how we will determine the two lucky winners).
Naturally Sweet Sisters will contact the winners on Sunday, July 7th, 2013 after the contest has ended. You will be asked to provide a shipping address so that we may send your FREE PortionMate.
From PortionMate and Naturally Sweet Sisters, we wish you all a very happy Independence Day!!!!!
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17 comments:
Love Naturally Sweet Sisters! Always full of good ideas and you can feel the love this Mom has for her daughters in every article she writes!
I would love to win the Portion Mate cylinders!!! Never saw them until they were on Naturally Sweet Sisters! This would be awesome for my 'too busy' son to measure all those quick snacks!!
Your blog rocks!! So many great ideas :-)
The portion mate cylinders would be great for my girl to start to figure out what a portion size is. Right now she weighs everything; which is great but not always possible when we are out and about. These cylinders would make that soooo much easier!
Those portion measurers look awesome! What a neat idea. I am glad I stumbled upon you blog through Facebook@
Really enjoy your blog! The portion mates look like a very handy tool. (Hope I win them!) :)
I loved these the first time you posted about them and now we could win them!!!! AWESOME!!!
Love your blog! I am totally interested in those portion mate cylinders. They look a lot more fun (and easy) to use than boring old measuring cups!
These are great, I "liked" the FB page as well!
Hooray for Naturally Sweet Sisters - another great blog with super ideas! Love PortionMate - Let the summer continue :)
What a neat thing that is! It would be so easy to just toss in your purse. Thanks for sharing! :)
You always find the neatest things!
These are so simple but so smart.
Happy Independence Day!
Oh these would be great.. How often do we have to guess at portion sizes! These would fit right in a purse!
Very thankful to have found this site, and excited to return. Have been here only 10 minutes and already have found info to help on our diabetes journey! also, I would love to have a set of portion mates for my (always in a hurry) son. Thank you
love the portion sizers!!! my 8 year old son is learning to count his own carbs. I think the sizers would benefit him greatly and give him more independence!! thanks for all the fabulous tips!!
I have never seen these portion mates, they look like they will be amazing to help with learning what a serving size is when we are on the go!!!
Thanks for the summer tips! The portion mates would be awesome for my son and his daycare would love them too!
These Portion Mate cylinders look so cool! My daugher is almost 8 and she does a lot of her own measuring, counting and weighing. These would be fun for her to use.
I love your blog. Your daughters are lucky to have you as a mom. Thank you for sharing all your wisdom and stories with us.
The giveaway is now closed and the winners are #2bvrooks and #8Angelas. Thank you to everyone that signed up to enter and keep checking NSS for more giveaways and fun blog articles and news.
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