UP, UP and Awayyyyyy

We took Kacey to the movies yesterday to see "UP". OMG! What a fantastic movie! It wasn't 15 minutes or so into the movie when I had to get out some tissues. It was a 3-D movie so we snapped a funny pic while we were waiting for it to start.

For an excellent movie review....CLICK HERE

Kacey REALLY liked it and I know we'll be buying that one on DVD when it comes out. For those of you that haven't seen it, take your little ones and go! It's worth paying to see in 3-D at the theater. We don't get to the movie theather very often since it's so dang expensive but since Kayleigh is doing all those fun things in Hawaii then we have to make sure we balance the fun and take Kacey to do things. It was worth every penny :)

More FUZE Excitement!

Kacey and I went up to our local video store to rent a movie for tonight and when we got to the checkout, what was in the drink case?!?! FUZE! It was a different one! The other day she had the Strawberry Melon and this one was the Tropical Punch. Of course I didn't turn her down! This is like trying new flavors of lifesavers :)

Just imagine her excitement when she turned the bottle over and she read the label....ONE CARB PER SERVING!!! That means the whole bottle is only 2 CARBS!!!!! YAYYYYYY!!!

And...for Wendy and Shamae....here's another Fuze Funny Pic :) I'm so glad our babies have found a cool drink that won't fool with their blood sugars! Only bad thing is they are $1.79 a piece here. Wonder if they sell them by the case? LOL! Hmmmm maybe I need to check Sam's Club!

Sad Day In History

Today is a sad day that will go down in the history books.

This morning, Farrah Fawcett passed away at the age of 62 from cancer.

This afternoon, Michael Jackson passed away at the age of 50 from cardiac arrest. I was 7 years old when "Thriller" hit the charts in 1982 and I remember dancing and singing along with his songs.

Such a sad day!

May the both finally REST IN PEACE! (Something they didn't get while they were living.)

Basal Changes & Emotions

I just got an email back from Kacey's CDE and we had to make our first basal changes since starting the pump. She's getting more insulin (0.5 u) in the 12am-4am block and the 4am-8am block. Since she's not been as active as she was at school, her morning numbers have been on the high side. She's also been high during the night and we've been having to do middle of the night corrections. I'll be a ball of nerves tonight! Making those changes have put my nerves on edge because if she decides to be active then we're going to be battling lows. But I trust our Endo and our CDE and they see a consistent pattern so the changes were made :)

Talked to Kayleigh today! Yesterday she went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation and to North Shore. She was so excited because those were 2 things that she hadn't marked in her book and she got to do them. Today she has gone snorkeling in Hanauma Bay. It must have been an amazing adrenalin rush for her because she called me and her mouth was going a mile a minute! This whole process of her being gone was definately something she needed. It's been hard on me but I know it's something she needed to do and it's been such a positive experience for her.

Being 14 years old, she should feel safe to leave home for longer than a night. But in Kayleigh's case, she's not been able to do that. When she was only a year old, I split from her bio-dad. He got her every other weekend and then eventually he got 2 full weeks in the summer. Kayleigh was way too young to understand what was happening and when she'd cry to come home to me, she couldn't. This took a terrible toll on her and she's always had this fear to leave for more than overnight. She will always ask me before she goes overnight with anyone, "Mommy will you come get me if I want to come home early?" As a parent, this throws daggers in my heart because at 14 years old, she STILL has to have that reassurance that I'm going to come and get her. When she'd cry to come home when she was little, she was made to stay (not by my choice). I can still hear her crying on the phone asking to come home and me having to say "I can't come and get you." Of course she understands now, that it wasn't because I didn't want to...it was because by court order I couldn't! So we had some serious talks before she left because this was going to be the longest she'd ever been away and it was going to be another time when she couldn't call home and ask me to come pick her up (not to say I wouldn't hop a plane to go get her if something was wrong) but she had to understand that if she went then she was going for 7 weeks. She was too excited to realize how long 7 weeks was really going to be but I knew in my heart this was the right thing for her to overcome that anxiety she'd harbored for the last 10+ years. I knew she was going to be safe with my brother and that's what has helped me get through this easier. You see, I had the same anxiety. Those same feelings I felt over 10 years ago...my baby going away and I couldn't just drive to get her if she wanted me! That rush of emotions came over me and this has also forced me to push past them. So it's good for both of us. I also got some very exciting news yesterday. My brother was apporved for military leave until July 6th! This means, even though Kayleigh is there to be a nanny to his kids, he is off work until then and when my Mom leaves to fly back here tomorrow, then Kayleigh will be able to continue the "tourist" kinds of things with my brother until the 6th!! I'm so excited for her :) I'm thankful to my brother for giving her this opportunity to grow as a person and thank you God for giving me the power to be able to overcome those terrible feelings I've held inside for so long. I've had lots of tears and prayers this last week!

Only 6 more weeks to go :)

New Drink!

A HUGE Thank you is going out to Shamae for posting about the drink called FUZE.
While Kacey and I were out shopping yesterday, we ran across it in the store and Kacey started jumping up and down when she saw the whole bottle only had 4 CARBS!! It had the "juicy" taste but didn't make her "sugar sick" like real juice does. Two thumbs up for a low carb drink!
We won't make this something she drinks everyday but it was nice to have another option when we're out and she's thirsty :)

SOL Scores

I talked a bit about SOL's (Standards of Learning) a while back. They are the tests that our kids have to take and personally ...I hate them! So much pressure is put on our kids these days and the last thing they need is to be stressed over passing a state test.

This year, SOL testing was different for Kacey. She got her test on paper and circled the answer. Her answers were then transferred to a scantron sheet by her teacher for the computer and then they were submitted after another teacher checked over it to make sure there were no mistakes in the transfer. Because of her diabetes and the swings she was having in blood sugar, they didn't want her to have to try and take it on the computer and then not do well because she had "cloudy brain" or "the shakies".

I'm pleased to announce we got the results back! Her results took longer since they were taken on paper. The other kids in her class got their results with their report cards.

The results....... PASS ADVANCED in EVERY area!!!! So not only did she pass them all....she passed them on the advanced level!!

Scores: A 600 is a perfect score...she wasn't off by too much!
Reading- 540
Math- 594
Science- 503
History- 530

All that stressing for nothing :) I knew she could do it! (And....thank you to the D-Monster for laying low on test days and cooperating so she could show her TRUE skills! You rock!)

First Week In Hawaii

Just sharing a few pics that I've had texted to my phone.
Kayleigh's 1st day in Hawaii

Dancing at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Kayleigh is in the purple & white dress and my niece Abigail is beside her in the red dress.

Relaxing :) Diamond Head Starting the hike of Diamond Head. Kayleigh is in the purple and thats my brother in front of her in the yellow shirt.

Dare I say...long day? LOL! My mom took this pic of her when she dozed off after the hike.

God's Work

We got to see "God's Work" in progress the other night and it was AMAZING!

We had a storm roll up very fast with sharp lightening and heavy thunder. It showered for about 30 minutes and then this is what we got....But that wasn't all! The cloud's rolling by were a sight to see! I was fortunate enough to be able to catch what was happening within the cloud.

The lightening was happening inside the cloud as it moved. I've never seen anything like this before and I was amazed by what I was seeing (and captured)

The ORANGE cast

Getting the pink cast removed!

It was so gross and was rubbing her fingers that I ended up putting duct tape on it to fix it...LOL!

All smiles after she was finally able to wash it! Whew that arm was...STANKY!!!

The new orange cast :) It's really brighter than the picture shows. It's the blaze hunting orange!

Moretic Mommy Moment

Yep...we're all gonna have them sooner or later!

Yesterday I went to have coffee with a friend of mine and while we were there Kacey's pump started to alarm after she bolused for the mac & cheese she was having for lunch. I immediately jumped up and went over to her. It said she didn't get the bolus because the tubing or cannula was blocked. Oh great! This meant we had to do an emergency site change. Thankfully I carry 2 extra sets and she still had a cartridge full of insulin. I didn't bother taking her other site out. I told her we could do that later. I hooked up the new tubing....put another site in on the opposite side of her tummy...and then restarted Herbie. Ahhhhh now that was easy enough :) We left my friends house and went to get her new cast on. She got the pink one cut off and xrays done to check to see how her arm was healing. Everything looks great! She ended up getting a blaze orange one put on. After we left there we went grocery shopping. She drug herself all over the store and was acting like she needed a nap. I bribed her and told her if she helped me with groceries then we'd stop at Starbuck's and get her hot chocolate. Yep....90F outside and she was all over the hot chocolate. She perked up and was a big help. We were pulling through Starbuck's and Herbie started to alarm again....SAME alarm! How can this be? Then I had what I'd call an "OH SHIT!" moment. I'm sitting in the parking lot with coffee and hot chocolate...a child that can't bolus because her pump is stopped....and it dawned on me what was wrong. The first time it alarmed, she had an air bubble. This time....I never filled the tubing or cannula when I put the new set on!!!

"My name is Jill, and I'm a Mommy Moron!"

Ugh! Kacey....test your blood sugar please! The look on her face said it all! She was a 435. Great! She starts to cry and says "Do you want me to save my hot chocolate?" My brain says YES because it's just gonna make things worse...but the Mommy heart of mine tells her "Nope, drink it and we're 10min from home and we'll deal with it!" She slowly sips her hot chocolate with tears running down her face. Damn Diabetes! Now I know why she was sluggish in the grocery store :( We got home and I immediate took care of the whole pump issue and we got things going again. A few corrections and she was a 123 before bed...perfect! Thankfully we didn't have the ketones pop up. I felt terrible because I was the one that caused this mess. I told Kacey how sorry I was and she says to me... "Mom it's ok, you do a good job taking care of my diabetes all the time." ***cry*** I try! I really do! But we're human and we DO make mistakes!

Lesson learned....ALWAYS make sure you fill your tubing before reconnecting!!

On another note, Kayleigh is doing well! She's been so busy that she hasn't even been able to upload pics to her MySpace or Facebook. I get pic texts to my phone and I'll share those soon. Saturday she went to the Swap Meet and bought most of her souveniers. Then they went to the Polynesian Cultural Center and had a wonderful time at a luau after that. Sunday she spent time in the pool and relaxed for a bit. Yesterday she went to the aquarium. Then today she hiked Diamond Head! So she's been very busy and I'm so excited to see some pics! Tomorrow she is going to North Shore and then on Thursday she is going snorkeling. My mom leaves on Friday to come back home and then Kayleigh will stay there with my brother. He's got other things planned to do with her by herself.

Had some excitement here at home. We made the decision to plant our field (about 4 acres) with pumpkins. Frankie and our neighbor planted 7,000 pumpkin seeds! Within 4-5 days we should start seeing some sign of growth. I'm VERY excited! Now we have to come up with a name for the pumpkin farm. My suggestion was "Sleepy Hollow" so we'll see if I win :) One more thing to keep us busy!

Thats all for now :)

Happy Father's Day

Just wanted to take a moment and wish my husband a HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

I love you!

Mommy Tears & Mommy Ears

Yesterday was filled with TONS of Mommy tears.

We woke up at 3:30am yesterday morning, got ourselves ready to leave the house by 4:30am to pick my Mom up by 5:00am. We got to the airport around 5:30am and by the time we got on the shuttle and got them checked in, it was almost 6:00am....ONE hour before time to leave!We walked around for a few minutes trying to pass time but everyone was so antsy and nervous. We walked through the gift shop and we stood by the security check point. "ONLY PASSENGERS AND EMPLOYEES BEYOND THIS POINT" is the sign that stood there. I immediately felt myself choke up and couldn't hold back the Mommy tears. Kayleigh was already crying before I did. I think she saw the sign too! We shared hugs and kisses with them both and we stood there waving as they walked down to their gate. We drove over to a parking lot near the airport and we sat and waited. I knew we'd be able to see her fly over. I was texting with her until she boarded the plane and she was so nervous. It was time to say "goodbye" again and we watched the planes fly out. About 15min later, her plane flew right over top where we were parked. More Mommy tears started to flow and as I looked around there were Sissy tears and Daddy tears too! We took Kacey to have breakfast and then we were off to Kings Dominion for the day.

We were nearly to Kings Dominion when we got the call... "Hi Mom! I'm in Atlanta!" **breathe a sigh of relief** She sounded tired though. "Thats great! You feel ok?" and then I heard a cracking in her voice as she told me they were going to find her some meds in the airport for motion sickness. Poor kid got sick at her stomach during the 2 hour ride and now she was going to have to suffer through a longer plane ride from Atlanta to Hawaii. Mom got her some meds, she settled down and she was ready for the long ride. She texted me as they were boarding. We were already in the gate at Kings Dominion and I was feeling so lost. I'm so used to making sure I have both girls at my side when we're in a theme park and I found myself looking around for her and realizing she wasn't going to be there. There were several times through the morning that Kacey came off the ride, hugged me and teared up as she told me, "I wish Sissy was here to ride it with me." WE MISS YOU ALREADY SISSY!!! (Can ya tell I cried alot during the day?)

It was around 12pm and we went to lunch. We sat down around a few empty tables and the words fell out of my mouth as usual... "Kacey, test your blood sugar." She tested, bolused and started eating her lunch. About 10 minutes into lunch, another couple with 3 kids sat down at the table next to us. I don't make it a habit of eavesdropping but my Mommy ears perked up when I heard the Mom say, "You need to test your blood sugar now!" LOL...the 3 of us turned our heads instantly and she saw the three of us do it. She said, "I'm so sorry to disturb you." and I replied, "You didn't disturb us! It was like hearing an echo." She looked at me with a puzzled look and before she could say anything I said, "She (pointing at Kacey) has diabetes too." She immediately struck up a conversation and we talked in "diabetes"...the language only T1 Mommys know. We shared diagnosis stories, hospital stories and without hesitation it was so cute to see the kids pull out their pumps and compare! Her son was 7 years old and on a blue MiniMed and another funny....both kids had broken arms! So we ended up sharing stories about that as well. After nearly an hour, we got up and said goodbye. We will never see that family again but it was so neat to have a conversation with complete strangers that somehow "knew" us. LOL Thank goodness for Mommy ears!

We started the long drive home and I kept looking at the clock. I kept hoping that Kayleigh didn't get sick and I knew it wouldn't be long before she would be arriving. We had only been home about 20 minutes and I looked at the clock...she was 40 minutes from landing time! About 5 minutes later, my phone rang....KAYLEIGH!!! They landed early :) She was there!!! I didn't get all the plane stories but she didn't get sick...yayyyy! She had already talked to my brother and he was waiting for them at the baggage claim. My heart breathed a sigh of relief and I hung up with her and cried. I was so glad she made it there ok. It wasn't long before I got a picture text to my phone from my brother.....

He had them!!! :) YAYYYYY! And she looks so happy :)

She called me back once they got settled and it was after 10pm our time. She is 6 hours behind us. She rattled off about the plane, seeing my brother and going shopping already. She sounded SOOOO happy and that made me feel so much better. We talked for about 15 minutes and she was going to get off the phone and help decide what to do for dinner. She had her appetite back! We hung up and I got more Mommy tears again. *sigh*

It was a LONG day!

I didn't sleep well last night. I'm coming down with a head cold and I'm not feeling well. We woke up about 8am when Kacey came rushing in crying because her site had pulled out during the night. I knew it wasn't out at her 2am check so it hadn't been out long. Check her sugar... 226. So we did a site change this morning. After the change, Kacey went into the kitchen (so I thought) and she came back around the corner crying. I asked her what was wrong and she said "Mommy, I forgot Sissy wasn't here and I was going to wake her up and her bed was made and she wasn't there."Oh geesh....here come more Mommy tears! So I helped her take care of Nemo (Kay's dog) since it's something Kayleigh always does. He was so lost because we don't usually care for him!

I know Kayleigh is going to be keeping up with the blog so this is for her....

Kay~ Ian and Kayla are over this morning and Ian asked where you were. I told him you were in Hawaii and he asked when you were coming home and if you were going to pack a suitcase to come home? LOL! He's already said he wishes you were here and he's coloring you a picture to mail to you :) Mommy loves you! <3

I'll be sharing more pics as I get them!

Field Day, Awards, Vacation & Other Mumbo Jumbo

It's been another week since I've posted! I'll be so glad when school ends and I can get back into the groove here. Sorry for being so neglectful!

This past week in the West household has been full of tears, laughter, nerves, excitement and lots of smiles.

I worked every single day last week and that made things very busy for us. Last Friday was the dreaded FIELD DAY! Kacey started the afternoon of fun with a blood sugar of 249. I knew we didn't have to worry about any lows at that point. An hour later, she'd only come down to a 243 and she wanted the 2 orange slices that were being given for the snack. Sure! She bolused 10 and did a correction. Another hour later and the end of field day, she was sitting at a wonderful 123! Could I ask for a better ending? Nope! She was limited to things she could do outside but the cast didn't stop her from having fun. She still cheered her friends on and I made sure to squeeze the sponge on her head so she got wet too!

The hoola hoop race

Orange smiles

Taking a break on the cooler

Kacey & Mrs. M (her teacher)

This past weekend, we had a cousin's graduation and a graduation party....POOL included. Yep, I cringed when we were told to bring our swimsuits. Diabetes + Cast does NOT = POOL. Kacey gave me the sad puppy dog face when I mentioned none of us getting in the pool. Then the idea of "Oh, well Kacey can sit on the side and get her feet wet!" shifted to "We'll hook her up!" Ummmm hook her up? Yep, her arm fit perfectly inside a bread bag which was then duct taped around her arm and then placed upon a float. She won't get it wet now! NOT! The sun was beaming down on that cast filled bread bag which inturn caused some condensation.

Condensation = SWEAT!

Sweat + Smell of fermented bread yeast= GROSS STINKY CAST!

I pulled her out of the pool every 30 min. She started at a 331. Bit excited? LOL! 30 min later she'd dropped to a 183. Then 30 min after that she was down to a 99. Snack time! She got out and ate a brownie cupcake....no bolus! And 30 min later....118 :) Perfect! It was time to get out of the pool and I was thrilled that we didn't have any lows to deal with.

Today was Kacey's 3rd grade awards ceremony. The Y3W presentation was done on a power point and it was AMAZING! Yep, I cried! Kacey also received several awards. The award that meant the most....A/B Honor Roll! She did it! She brought those grades back up to A's & B's. It's amazing what happens when diabetes actually bows down and takes the backseat! Her blood sugars have been absolutely amazing and she's felt so good! (Please don't let this jinx her) I really had no clue she'd made Honor Roll until her teacher called her name. I was just as shocked as Kacey was and immediately welled up with tears. For some, that doesn't mean anything....but for the parents of Type 1 kids...it means EVERYTHING! It means Kacey can manage her diabetes AND be an Honor Roll student but this also means we have some control over what her body is doing! (Thanks Herbie!)

We're down to the final countdown with Kayleigh. She's shed lots of tears in the last few days. Exams are kicking her butt this year and then she leaves on Friday. I can't believe the time is here! We're packing her suitcase tomorrow. The last day of school is Thursday and then she leaves for Hawaii on Friday morning. I've got all the legal paperwork done and notarized so she's all set to go! I'll be sharing pics as she emails them to me.

We're still really busy this week but next week we should have some time to relax. I'll be back to my normal posting routine. I'll catch up sooner or later ;)

More soon!

MIA- Missing In Action/Advance

Wow! It's been nearly a week since I last posted. Things here have been extremely busy with me subbing everyday, the end of school nearing fast and Kayleigh's trip coming.

Last weekend, we did some more clothes shopping and Kayleigh is set for her trip. I think it finally hit her that she's leaving and she's become a ball of nerves. Happy. Sad. Excited. Scared. Nervous. Everything rolled into one! I had not let her see me cry and this past weekend she asked me if I was glad she was going? How do you answer something like that? I immediately got tears in my eyes and told her I was VERY happy that she had this opportunity of a lifetime but I was also going to miss her TONS! We had a good cry together. I think she's nervous because she's never been away from home more than a weekend because she wanted to and no more than a week because she was made to go visit her real Dad by the court when she was little and didn't like it. I know she will be just fine when she gets there and my brother has so much planned for her! She is going to be so surprised when she finds out that he is taking her to a luau! I just wish I could be there to experience all of this with her. Sadly diabetes wins over this year but with some saving we might be able to experience it next year.

Fortunately I've been able to sub quite a bit at the school. I love being in the classroom and on Friday, I got to teach Kacey's class for the first time. That was fun! She did just fine with me in the classroom and all of the kids were on their best behavior. I finally got to see how Kacey's day goes and how busy they stay. No wonder she's tired when she comes home! I was exhausted!

Speaking of Kacey...she's adjusted well to having her arm in the cast. She finally figured out how to test her blood sugar on her own with the cast on. Sometimes she surprises me with how headstrong and determined she is...LOL wonder where she gets that? She hasn't complained of any pain and just the other day she asked if she could ride her bike. WHAT?!?! I don't think so! That's what got her into this mess to start with. She doesn't know what to do with herself because when we come home from school, her routine is to do her homework and then go ride her bike. She's been sulking around because she wants to get back on it. Guess I should be thankful she isn't scared of it!

This past weekend also brought on some fun with friends. We made S'mores on the grill...yep no bonfire...just grill fire...haha! The girls loved it :) Kacey was so excited when she started with a blood sugar in the 150's and two hours later she was in the 120's. She gave me this grin and said "I guessed the bolus right!" and I didn't dare wanna ruin the moment and tell her it was really because she was running around outside. It was a great feeling though!

Diabetes hasn't been a main focus lately. Things have gotten pretty stable and I'm sure it's Kacey's activity level that is keeping things level. Having the cast on hasn't stopped her from running around and playing! She's had some highs but they are not as common as they had been. So, THANK YOU D-Monster for staying put and letting Kacey enjoy life for a while!

I had two moments this week when Kacey really surprised me with how well she knows her diabetes. The first one was on Monday. One of the little girls in her class brought in brownies for her birthday. Brownies! Yikes! That's asking for a sugar jump! I was working at her school and figured I'd get a call asking me what to bolus? Did my phone ring? Nope! I just figured she didn't eat one....until she came running to me afterschool and told me how "fudgie" the brownies were. ***gasp*** "Kacey did you bolus?" and then she gives me this look like I asked her something I shouldn't have and she replied "MOM! Do you think I would eat a brownie and NOT bolus?" ***smack*** "No but you didn't call me to ask me how many carbs?" ....."I didn't have to. I got the smallest brownie on the tray and bolused for 20 carbs." YOU WHAT?!?! Wowwww! Ok so ummmm she didn't need me because she did it all on her own. Of course, she was about 10 carbs off but still...she owned her diabetes and took charge of doing things. Can I ask for anymore? Absolutely not! Everything I've instilled in her these last 11 months has finally clicked and she did it on her own. The second time was today. Another test for her! We took cupcakes into school today. Yep, CUPCAKES loaded with icing on top. Why? Because we wanted to show everyone that just because you have diabetes doesn't mean you can't have a cupcake for a class party. Nothing pisses me off more than for another parent to say, "Oh! Can she eat a cupcake?" Of course she can eat the damn cupcake! All she has to do is press a button now! Does she eat cupcakes everyday? No. But she CAN have it! So I walked in with 24 cupcakes and I'm sure you can imagine the big eyeballs I got. I never told Kacey how many carbs were in each cupcake and I wanted to see how she handled herself again. As I said, another test! I waited for the call and once again, nothing. After school, she came walking out with 6 left over cupcakes and a grin a mile wide. I didn't have to ask her if she bolused because I knew she did. We spoke in "D-language" while everyone around us wondered what we were talking about. "So how much did you dose for?" "30?" "Hmmm maybe? We'll see what happens in the next hour." ***hour passes*** Test- 202. "Just a little off but you're getting good at this!" She smiled and hugged me. She's just so pleased with herself and she's really starting to gain that independence back that was stolen from her a year ago.

Sunday brought some excitement. When Miley had the kittens, she had them on the porch and then moved them under one of my bushes in my flower bed. Two days later, she moved them to an undisclosed location! We hadn't seen them in nearly 4 weeks. I was almost certain she'd moved them and forgot where she put them...LOL! She spent more and more time hanging out on the front porch and so I figured they were all dead. We'd accepted that it was what had happened to them and even though we were sad, it wasn't like we'd gotten attached to them because she had moved them before we got the chance to love on them. Soooooo....imagine the shock when I heard Kayleigh scream from the front porch, "MOOMMMMMMMM COME QUICK!!!" I thought she was hurt and I went bursting out the front door to see her doing a happy dance and screaming "Look! Look! They're ALIVE!" When I looked into the barrel we have on the front porch for Miley to sleep in, this is what I saw.....

Three of the five babies were alive! I immediately bent down to scoop one of them up and got hissed at. Uhoh! I forgot this was the first time they were seeing humans so they were very scared. I sat out there for a while with them taking pics. They girls finally got to hold them :) Sadly it was just for a short while because when we came back from our outing for the day, they were gone again! She'd moved them back to an undisclosed location. We've tried to watch and see where she is going but she's so sneaky and when we follow her she just lays at our feet waiting for a tummy rub.

We also decided last Sunday that we'd swing into Busch Gardens since Mercy Me was playing and I really wanted to see them. We got there when Stellar Kart was on and they were really good! By the time Mercy Me took the stage, it was so packed and the girls were hot and wanted to go ride the rides. We met our new neighbors over there and we really had a great time with them! Josh bought the girls and his kids (ages 5 & 2) some ice cream and we had a fun evening.

I think that about sums up the last few days. I've got some busy days ahead. I have to take Kayleigh to get her ID card made with the DMV so she has legal proof of who she is with a picture on it since she'll be traveling. I work all week this week, except for Friday, which is FIELD DAY! The day I've been dreading all year...but now that she has the cast she is going to be limited (heehee!) I know I shouldn't laugh but I know she won't be having the drops like she would of if she was really participating. I'm still going to be outside helping as I need to. They also get yearbooks on Friday so that will be lots of fun!

This Saturday brings on high school graduation. Frankie's cousin is graduating and we are hopefully going to be attending that followed by a party :) I can't believe Justin is graduating...seems like just yesterday he was born! (I knew his Mom long before I married Frankie who is cousins with his dad) Way to Go Jus! Good luck :)

Then, next week brings on some final days to the school year. We have the teacher lunch on Monday. Kacey has her 3rd grade awards ceremony on Tuesday. Then on Thursday they have their pizza party and they get out of school early since it's the LAST day! Then.....Friday....yep I'll say it again, Kayleigh leaves for 7 WEEKS! :(

I'll post as I can over the next few days! Hope everyone is doing well and I'll take a moment to catch up on blogs soon. (((HUGS))) to you all!

Cast Day

Today was Cast Day!

Let me start by saying, I absolutely LOVE the Orthopedic doctor's office we went to. They are the ones that I saw for my foot. It's really nice when you find a doctor's office with such a kind and compassionate staff as well as some great doctors! The doctor that we saw today was a young one and he took the time to print out Kacey's xray and explain how her arm was broken in terms she could understand. He explained to her that she'd be in her cast for 6 weeks but in 2 weeks he wants to make sure it's healing the way it is supposed to so we go back for more xrays and then 4 weeks after xrays she will get the cast off. She broke it in a perfect healing place. He said 5 years from now you won't even be able to tell it was ever broke. YAY!
That bump....yep thats where it's broken!

After he unwrapped her arm, he showed her where it was broken. He asked her what her favorite color was? She smiled and said "Pink!" He laughed and told her he could definately accomidate her :) Before he had a chance to cast her, he was called to an emergency at the hospital next door. He came back in and reassured her that she was in good hands and the other doc would take good care of her arm and put the cast on. I thought that was super sweet of him!

The process begins...... PINK....not light pink....not dark pink.....HOT PINK!!

Of course, you couldn't wipe the grin off her face! She was so excited to get a colored cast and she said it was too pretty to write on...LOL! She's doing pretty good with it. She was happy to be able to move her fingers, which are still very swollen. The doc told us to continue the Motrin and keep it elevated for the rest of the day today. So she's resting quietly on the couch and taking it easy today!

Thanks to everyone who's sent her well wishes :) I read them all to her and she's feeling the love from all of you out there!

Rough 48 Hours

It's been a rough 48 hours in the West household!

Yesterday I ended up keeping Kacey home from school. I called the Orthopedic doctor and she can't be casted until Thursday at 9:15am. She was ready to go to school but then she started getting the pains that were shooting to her elbow again and she was crying so I figured it wasn't worth letting her go and then getting a call to come get her. She ended up going back to sleep after I gave her some Motrin and didn't wake up until 11:30am! She needed the rest after a very restless night. She layed around the entire day.

This morning, she woke up and she cried because she wanted to go to school. I had a sub job lined up and so we went to school :) Her wonderful teacher agreed to do her fingersticks since she can't do them on her own. She only had one problem today. She waited too long to go to the bathroom and she couldn't get her pants down in time! Thankfully I keep extra clothes at school so she just changed and went on about her day. This afternoon, the Motrin I gave her had worn off and she was feeling the pain again. Once we got home, she got her Motrin and I noticed her messing with the splint. She said her hand was still dirty and she had sand in it. DUH! It dawned on me that when she fell, she scraped her hand and she was covered in dirt. It never got washed when we were at the hospital. They just splinted her and sent us out. So I took a chance and I unwrapped it while she was in the bath and layed it on the side of the tub. I gently washed her hand and then rewrapped it the way it was. At least now it's clean for tomorrow :) She's not complained much this evening and she said she will be glad to get the cast because the splint is keeping her from using her fingers. Huh? Ohhhh duh! We cut the fingersticks to one hand since the other fingers were swollen and wrapped. Ugh! (Sorry Kacey!) So she went from having 8 fingers to use for fingersticks to having 4 (she doesnt use thumbs). Poor thing!

Speaking of diabetes....her numbers have been surprisingly great! I guess I shouldn't speak too loud...LOL! I thought with all the pain, she'd have some pretty good highs and she's not. Actually they've been in the lower 100's :)

So, tomorrow is the big day...Cast Day! I'll have camera in hand :)

Emergency Room Trip

We just got home from the Emergency Room with Kacey. Nope, not diabetes related.

SHE BROKE HER ARM!!

Frankie called to tell us he was on his way home. Her normal ritual is to go outside and ride her bike until he gets here and then she goes out to feed the dogs with him. So she went out with Kayleigh and they made about 4 passes back and forth when Kacey lost control of her bike and slipped off the seat causing her to crash. She landed with all her weight on her arm. She let out a blood curdling scream and Kayleigh wrecked her bike trying to get to her. Kacey couldn't move her arm and she brought her back in the house screaming. I knew something was wrong when she couldn't move her fingers and she was screaming so hard that I had to sit her down and calm her before she could tell me what happened. Frankie got home about 10 minutes after she did it and I knew we were going to have to take her into the ER. He took his shower while I sat with her and she was still crying in pain. I got her ice and gave her Motrin because I knew thats what they were going to do when we got to the ER. She cried the entire way and thankfully they weren't crowded when we got there. Only one person ahead of us :) They took her right into xray and I was able to tag along. As soon as she did the xray, I could see it on the screen and I knew it was broke. The girl that did them is also one of the moms on the PTA at Kacey's school so we knew her. I asked her if it was broke and she told me she couldn't tell me but it "didn't look right". The nurse came back in....yep it's broke and now I have to make her an appointment to see the Orthopedic doctor to be casted! They put her in a split for now. Her little wrist is so swollen :( and she's still in so much pain. Ugh! When it rains, it REALLY pours! So there goes any swimming or amusement parks for us for 6 weeks.

I'll post once I know more about "Cast Day".

Long Weekend!

Whew! What a long weekend! It was exciting and very eventful...LOL!

Things started Saturday morning when we met my Mom for breakfast as usual. Golden Corral. (enough said!) Starting out the day on carb overload...bolus for 135 carbs...yikes! So we left there and went to Walmart to do some shopping for Kayleigh's trip. I can't believe she's due to leave in 2 1/2 weeks! We didn't find everything we needed so we slipped by Target to see if they had what we were looking for. I still wasn't "awake" yet and once I saw Starbucks then I was feelin pretty alive. I got myself a coffee, Mom a coffee and Kayleigh a coffee. Kacey doesn't like hot coffee and she's never had any of it cold but she was perfectly content with her Diet Coke. So we're waiting for our coffees to be made and the other lady made the next man's Frappaccino wrong. She set it to the side and made him the right kind. After he left, she asked me if she could split the caramel Frappaccino with my girls. Both of their faces lit up. I agreed, of course. It's not every day you get FREE Starbucks! Kacey stood there with the biggest grin as I watched the lady swirl a ton of whipped cream on top and then smother it with caramel swirls. She handed them to the girls and Kayleigh immediately started to sip. Kacey looked at me with approval and said, "How much?". It was the unspoken language between us and I knew what she meant. I'd never bolused for this before and given the amount of syrup on top I replied, "Let's try 60 and we'll see what happens." She pulled her pump out, bolused and then took the biggest sip with a HUGE smile! For that moment, I felt happy. Even though I knew she was on carb overload already, I didn't tell her "no" and she was enjoying it!We walked to the car, got about 2 miles up the road and half way through the Frappaccino when I hear, "Mom, this is making me sugar sick." Uhoh! She's sitting in the backseat and holding her tummy as she hands me whats left of her drink. Great! This means she's got tons of active insulin for a drink she didn't finish. So I'm praying that the active insulin will help with the carb overload from breakfast.

We got back to my Mom's house and I'd bought stuff for the girls to make subs for lunch. I notice Kacey is laying down on the couch (yep! shes dropping low) so I make her test and shes down to a 101 with 4 units active...yowser!! I make her lunch and only make her bolus for 10 carbs. It was now time for me to leave her. My "Mommy nerves" were kicking in and I felt myself choking up but I knew I had to hold it back because the moment she saw me upset then she wouldn't stay. I kissed both girls and out the door I went. Yep...I cried all the way home! For some reason, I felt so guilty. Why should I feel guilty for going out with my friends and having fun with my husband. I know I shouldn't but I was feeling it! I got about 5 miles up the road and my phone rang....omg! already? Kacey had left her backpack in the car...ugh! So we had to take the backpack back to Mom's house since that had all her extra supplies in it, including glucagon and emergency instructions & numbers. More hugs and kisses goodbye and we were on our way! I knew the girls were going to have tons of fun because they were going to play putt-putt with my Mom & Brian and then they were going out to eat at Olive Garden. My Mom went online and pulled up the menu which gave the carbs for the alfredo Kacey was going to eat along with the bread sticks (Go Nae!)...total of carbs for her meal...155! Crap! She's been on carb overload all day but she's still smiling and having fun so I'm gonna let her be free today.

It wasn't long before I got a text to my phone. It was Kayleigh and she wanted to let me know they were on their way to a surprise place (she didn't know where they were going) and Kacey's blood sugar was a 271. Do we correct? I told her not to since she'd be playing and she could test afterward. She tests after putt-putt and I get another text.... "Mom, shes a 259 and we are going to eat. Do we correct?" so I send her one back "Yep correct and bolus for the 155". She continues to text me and tell me about putt-putt and I can't help but feel a bit sidetracked. We were at dinner with 6 other couples and Frankie looks over at me and asks me if I'm ok. I nod and smile. He then says "You miss them don't you?" I got so choked up because I honestly did miss them and I felt weird leaving them. We laughed and joked about me needing a drink to get my mind off of it. We finished our dinner at Keagan's Irish Pub and then walked across the street to the comedy club. We weren't in there long when my phone vibrated with another text..."She is a 428, do we correct? She wants a snow cone with sugar free syrup. Can she have it?" Well, guess we know what Olive Garden pasta does to her now...LOL! "Yep, correct! Yep, she can have it!" and then I get "Thanks Mom! Have fun!" *sigh* My own daughter is telling me to have fun. Two hours later, one more text from Mom this time. "Kacey is still a 373. Do you want me to give her anymore insulin?" I didn't want Mom to have to correct through the night so I told her to correct one more time and then just do the 2am check and I'd deal with things in the morning when I got there. We got back home around 11:45pm...actually paused when we passed my Mom's road and the thought of picking the girls up crossed our minds...but we figured we'd leave them and go on home. When we got home, the house was so quiet! It was just the two of us and I felt this emptiness inside. As I got into bed, I leaned over to set the alarm out of habit. The tears started rolling! I could finally sleep all night and yet I wasn't happy about it.

I picked the girls up yesterday morning and they were all smiles! Mom told me how her night went over breakfast. She got up for the 2am check but then because Kacey was high, Herbie beeped again 2 hours later...LOL! Mom said it scared her as she fumbled in the dark to see what the beeping was on Kacey's pump. She tested her and she was still bopping in the 200's. Herbie went off again 2 hours after that...LOL and it woke Mom up again. I think she has a new found respect for the times when I say, "I didn't get any sleep!"...haha! The girls were chatterboxes on the way home. They told me all about how much fun they had. As they were talking about dinner, Kacey went on to tell me about the croutons she tried with Olive Garden dressing and the half of a breadstick Nae gave her. Whoa! Wait! I felt like a little lightbulb went off. THATS why she shot up to the 400's! So when I talked to Mom later that afternoon, I asked her about it and she said she didn't think that it was enough carbs to dose for. LOL! So I explained to her that Kacey HAS to dose for every single thing she puts in her mouth if it has carbs. The croutons and half a breadstick were about 20 carbs and for Kacey that is 2 whole units of insulin! So it was definately a learning experience. The highlight of the whole weekend was when Kacey hugged me and said, "Mommy, I had fun with NaeNae and I know she knows how to take care of me now because she could do my fingersticks in the middle of the night and I didn't feel them." *sigh* Wow! Something as simple as knowing how to do a fingerstick makes Kacey feel like the person can care for her. Thats a BIG deal in our house! I'm sure it will get easier for me to leave her the more we do it. I guess after almost a year of keeping her close to my side, I have to let someone else learn how to care for her.

Yesterday was a bit of a sad day for me. I got the suitcase down for Kayleigh. We've been buying things for her trip over the last few weeks and when we went shopping on Saturday, I got her several new pairs of shorts and some other things she wanted to take with her. She had a pile of stuff and so I brought in the suitcase so she can start laying everything in there and packing things she wasn't going to wear in the next 18 days. Yep...18 more days and then she leaves for 7 weeks. I started crying just thinking about it yesterday because she's never been away from home longer than a week and that was when she was forced to spend the week with her biological father because the court gave him that time during the summer with her. By the 4-5th day, she was already crying to come home :( ...and now she is leaving for 7 weeks! So it just made me sad to think about how much I'm going to miss her and how much she actually helps me out around the house. It's just going to be me and Kacey during the day.

Here are a few pics from our date out....My drink- The Rubber Chicken....haha I swear thats what it was called and it was amazing!

This is my good friend Dawn & I with our Rubber Chickens...LOL! Mmhmm...the rosy cheeks are always a good sign :)

This is Frankie and his childhood best friend James (Dawn's hubby) when we were at Keagan's for dinner. LOL...when you put those two together, you're bound to laugh til your tummy hurts!

I'll have pics of the girls at putt-putt when my Mom gets them to me. So I'll share those soon :)