To My Birthday Girl

Ten years ago today, was a very scary and very happy moment in my life! I planned you, I wanted you and I couldn't wait to finally meet you! I'd been through a very rough pregnancy, complete with going into early labor at just 6 months pregnant. Dr. S was able to keep you inside and on March 8, 2000 at 10:59pm, you were born! You came into this world with a struggle. I patiently awaited your cry after you came out and I heard nothing. It was silent. I kept turning to Daddy and asking if you were ok and no one would answer me. Then...I heard it...a faint squeak. It wasn't a cry but I knew you were alive! I cried tears of joy as I heard another squeak. You were placed into your Daddy's arms first and then he handed you over to me. We only got to hold you for about 5-10min before you were rushed off to the nursery for observation. I couldn't understand what was going on because when Kayleigh was born they didn't do that. It wasn't until the nurse came back in with poloroid pictures of you that I understood. The nurse spoke softly and calmly to me and explained that they took those pictures of you because they were not sure if you'd make it through the night. I cried for hours and begged to go to the nursery to see you but they wouldn't let me get up. You see, I'd fought for my own life that night as well. So I was being watched closely too. Dr. S came back in to see me and he held a prayer circle before he left that night. He said a Higher Power was guiding his hand and he had to save me before he could save you and you were VERY lucky to be alive! The next morning, they brought you to me and you opened your eyes and looked at me like you'd known me forever. You weighed 7lbs. 13oz, 20.5in long and you had 10 fingers and 10 toes! You had the prettiest color :) Dr. O, your pediatrician, came in to talk to us and she explained that you were without oxygen for so long that they were not sure how much brain damage was done and they wouldn't know until you were 2. I knew in my heart you'd be perfect! By the time you were two, you were above level on developmental milestones, but you developed febrile seizures. It was another very scary time for us. They assured us it wasn't from your birth and they were fluke happenings. You only had 2 of them and by the time you were 4, you were so above level and already reading some words. By the time you got to 1st grade, you were reading on a 3rd-4th grade level and you continued to thrive and be a bright spot in my day. You have a silly sense of humor and you always turn a negative into a positive. That dreaded day came in 2nd grade, your diabetes diagnosis. I was thrown back 8 years to your birth. You fought so hard to live and you were fighting all over again! You took your diagnosis with such ease. I could not imagine being 8 years old and giving myself shots and pricking my finger. And now, here were are, 2 years later and you're finally in those double digits...10 years old! You've come a long way in 2 years! You continue to amaze me at how brave and at ease you are. You continue to educate those around you on a daily basis and I know you're going to do great things when you grow up. You're a fighter and you're my hero! You show those around you how to LIVE with diabetes and I know you have rough days, you're allowed to! God gave you to us for a reason and He has purpose for you. He had a chance to take you 3 times and He wasn't ready for you. You have not fulfilled the purpose He has for you yet. What that purpose is yet, we don't know...but we're very excited to watch you fulfill it! You've said you want to be a "Diabetes Nurse" (CDE) when you grow up and I know you have the heart and compassion to be a wonderful nurse.

My dear precious baby girl, my wish for you is that you never stop believing in yourself and may you complete everything you put your mind to!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY "MOOTSIE"!!!

Love,

Mommy

March 2000- VERY pregnant

At birth~ Not breathing

24 hours after delivery

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY KACEY BROOKE!

Unwanted Insurance Stress

***Warning Vent***

It's been 12 hours since my "outburst" so I think I'm safe to finally post. I don't think I could have handled posting this last night.

As many of you know, Frankie started his new job on Feb 1st. Prior to switching jobs, I had this panic about insurance switches and I was assured "things would be fine." Switching jobs is never "just fine" when you have a child with a chronic illness. I asked him to find out WHEN the insurance would kick in so I would know what kind of lapse we were looking at, if any? He asked and the reply he got from the main boss, "Well, I'm not sure because I don't have the insurance through here." Hmmm...ok so put him in contact with someone who knows, right? Two days pass and on that Wed, I ask AGAIN, you found out anymore on the insurance? His reply, "They said I'd get the papers in the mail." THEY? Who the f#$% is THEY? Grrrrrr! I want a REAL answer. Get me a number I can call and find out! So about 3 weeks after he had been working there, he came home from work and handed me 2 ink pens with the company logo (he knows I have a fetish for a good writing pen) and he said the boss man gave him 2 new hats too! He was all smiles til I asked, "So what did you find out about this damn insurance?" He said, "Well I talked to one person that said 90 days and two others that said 30 days." OK....I was cleaning the kitchen and it was at this point I'd just picked up the tin foil to put it away when he dropped the bomb on me. I threw the box against the back door and screamed, "90 DAYS?!?!?! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE F#$% THAT MEANS? DO YOU HAVE A CLUE?!?!?" I was so upset and literally fell apart. What did this mean? I went into a panic! I knew we had enough supplies to last about a month. I wasn't sure when our other insurance would lapse so I called in her insulin and test strips. It was too soon to fill the test strips but they filled the insulin. The co-pay was our normal co-pay. In the meantime, the following week he finally got me the number to someone I could talk to about switching insurance. I called and spoke to the Benefits people. The lady was very nice and understanding but "nice and understanding" isn't really gonna help when you're gonna have a lapse in coverage. She explained that we'd be able to get coverage til Frankie had been there for 30 days....Mar 1st. Ummm ok, we'd be fine since I had enough insulin and strips. So March 1st rolls around and I called them back. He's able to get his benefits BUT now we have to wait til April 1st for them to be available. WTF?!?!?! So THIS is why I've cried for the last few days....been so stressed the last few weeks...and worry what life is gonna bring us. If we elected Cobra coverage it would be $1500 a month. Thats F%$#!&* ROBBERY!!! There is no way we could afford that. Kacey has 3 bottles of insulin left in the fridge and plenty of pump supplies so we're covered there. BUT now we're down to 100 test strips! I called to get her strips filled and the lady said ....$527 please. WHAT?!?! So the insurance has officially lapsed! What the hell do we do when she's testing 10-12 times a day and dropping low 2-3 times a day? I contatced her CDE and explained that we no longer have coverage and we NEED help! She is going to give us 100 strips to help. So now, I guess we will either have to buy them over the counter or we will use all the extra meters that came with strips.

As a parent, I'm SCARED! I can honestly say I am! I've not told anyone about this because I don't want the "pity" factor. But I've gotta vent these feelings or I'm gonna need meds for myself soon! I'm scared because I don't know what's in store for us. We've just gotta make it thru the next 4 weeks! It's really sad when you say to yourself "Does she really need to test now?" just to save a strip and try and ration them. It's scary to think about the lows and retesting 15min later and then think to yourself "Well thats another strip and now we're down to 2 bottles." I HATE THIS FEELING! I hate being scared of the unknown. I don't even wanna think about her getting sick in the next month WITHOUT insurance! My biggest fear....a lapse in coverage...has happened. I've made myself sick thinking about it and Frankie keeps saying "Jill, it's not as bad as you're making it out to be. If she needs strips, we'll buy some over the counter." HE DOESN'T GET IT!!!!

So, several of you are wondering my lack of blogging....my lack of posting....my plain old lack of....now you know! Lemme tell you....I can honestly understand the phrase...."Stress will kill you!" Stress is some awful stuff and I'll just be counting the days til Apr 1st! Having a child with a chronic illness is bad enough and then you add the worry about being able to keep your child safe and alive adds a while new element! I can feel the pain for those that live with diabetes and don't have insurance. Sad part for us, Frankie makes too much to qualify for any assistance. Yep! That's right! We live in a house that was built in 1964, both driving older paid off vehicles, no credit cards, no other loans except the house and we live as frugally as we can.....and we can't get help! The systems SUCKS! If we quit our jobs and layed on our asses watching TV all day then we'd get money for food and all our medical paid for. Something is wrong with that picture? So my husband continues to work every day and bust his ass so some lazy ass bum can sit on their ass and watch TV! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

If you made it this far, thanks for listening :(

Low & Snow

Monday afternoon brought on another scary low! This time....a 46.

It was 15 min til time for school to end. Kacey went to the bathroom and when she was about to walk out, she was hit the the double vision again. One of her friends had come into the bathroom and Kacey was sitting on the floor in the bathroom testing her blood sugar. She was a 46...dizzy....sweating....had the headache....and knew she needed help! She wasn't with it enough to reach for her glucose tabs but her friend K knew she needed help fast. She helped Kacey get up and got her out in the hall. Kacey's other friend, C, was in the hall too and went running to Kacey's class to let Mrs. L know that Kacey was low again. Thankfully the nurse is only 4 doors down from Kacey's classroom and the bathroom is right across the hall from her class so she didn't have to go very far.
She got in the nurse, and was able to get help to treat herself. She came up to a 157 in 15min and she felt better but she was extremely exhausted. I clocked out and brought her home. When she got home, all she wanted to do was lay down. I was so scared she'd drop again so I had her eat dinner. I didn't think she'd drop again after eating....but she did! She came down to a 73 so I had her treat with more glucose tabs instead of eating more food. I was hoping that we'd be able to have that ice cream. By bedtime, she'd started to come around and was actually smiling. Bedtime blood sugar....105! YES!!! TAKE THAT DIABETES! She was able to have that ice cream :) and we even put some whipped cream, nuts and a few sprinkles on top ;)

Virginia was hit with a Nor'easter again last night! I went to sleep at 9pm last night and there was nothing on the ground. When I got up this morning, everything was WHITE! This time it came in the form of snow. As much as I hate snow, I'm thankful it wasn't the flooding water that we had last time. I took Chloe out in the snow for the first time this morning and ended up laughing so hysterically that I thought I'd wet my pants standing there. She looked like an oversized rabbit hopping around the front yard. Only a week and a half ago, her feet touched the grass for the first time. So this was ALL new to her! She LOVED it! She's doing SO good :) She learned the command "sit" in just one week! She's also learned if she goes potty outside then when she comes in, she's asked to "sit" and she gets a treat. She's started doing it without command the last 2 days. She runs in and immediately sits down. AMAZING!

HAPPY 3 MONTH BIRTHDAY CHLOE!!!

I'm just floored at how smart she is already. She still stays glued to Kacey and she's still doing great with going potty outside! :) She's also learned what the bathtub is....WATER! We heard a crash the other day and she'd run in the bathroom and jumped right in the tub and knocked down the shampoo & conditioner. I yelled "No!" and she sat and just stared up at me. It's too bad I didn't have my camera in my pocket...LOL...it was priceless!!

Such is the life in the West house! :)

Diabetic Meltdown

Once again, I had to miss out on the fun of chat. I'm so bummed!! :( It seems like something always happens and I can't have time to myself to just sit and chat.

I decided to get my bath at dinner time (yeah wrong move but I was REALLY needing a bubble bath ALONE! I'll explain more about the stress once I am able to blog about it.) and Kacey figured up her carbs on her own. This is something she does and has done since she was diagnosed. Usually she has me going behind her and totalling to make sure she's right. She's ALWAYS right. So what made me think last night would be any different? She can total carbs....she's fine! I'd done her site change before dinner. She was in million dollar real estate so I knew she'd have some good numbers showing up....especially since I'd popped the top on a new bottle of insulin. When it was time for bedtime snack, she tested and was mad to find a 379 looking back at her. WTF?!?! Where did that come from? She didn't have a high carb meal that would spike her like that. I scrolled back through her pump....Ummm.....31 dinner carbs? She had a MSF Chik patty on a bun with mayo and a snack bag of chips.... 20 + 16 + 15 = 51 .... what happened??? SHE FORGOT THE BUN!!!! She had an instant meltdown. I mean....BIG tears and crying hysterically! This one was one of the worst yet.

WHY? Why was she so upset?

Diabetes had won :( For once she made a mistake....her body paid the price...and now she wasn't going to be able to eat the new ice cream she had picked out. Why did I feel so guilty? I should have counted behind her. I shouldn't have made her do it herself and then she wouldn't of made the mistake. I tossed around the idea of saying "F*#% YOU Diabetes!" and doing a heavy correction and letting her have the ice cream but then I'd feel worse if she went really high then. So we all made her a deal....NONE of us would have the new ice cream until she was able to have some too. Kayleigh felt really bad for her and she kept telling her that she would have the same low carb snack because she wouldn't eat something in front of her. After lots of talking and even more tears, we got her settled down and we all ate cheese sticks and peanuts for snack.

After she'd settled herself, I sat back down with her and asked her WHY she was so upset? Her response....Because I made a mistake and made my blood sugar go high. UGH! She was blaming herself for the high and it was NOT because I'd told her she couldn't have the ice cream. She's too freaking young to have to deal with this and I was having a "FU D" moment. I explained that it was ok to have mistakes but from now on we just need to make sure we count everything on her plate and I told her I'd help her total so she didn't have to do it. She looked at me and replied, "It's ok Mom, I really can do it." Ahhhhhhh! Give her responsibility and then try and take it back and she gets offended. So I told her I'd just do it secretly to make sure she was right like I've been doing and we could do a High-5 if she got it right. Whew!

Sorry for missing most of chat again :(

OVER 500!

"BG is over 500- Check Ketones"

That is the message that came up on "Herbie" last night around 8pm. It's a message that we've never had to deal with before and it really scared us. It took me about an hour to get Kacey to settle down. She kept crying and I couldn't understand why. Through her sniffles, she pleaded not to go back to PICU. Ohhhhh boy! She immediately associated that high with having to go back to the hospital. So I made her a deal *wink* and told her that she wouldn't have to go back to the ER unless she didn't drink water to flush those trace ketones. She immediately downed two bottles of water mixed with Crystal Light and we waited. About 30 min later, she'd dropped to a 451. As soon as she saw the number coming down, she let out a huge sigh and asked for more water. She sipped on another bottle and an hour later she'd dropped to a 355. Whew! She had a really bad headache so I made her a "bed" on the couch and let her go on to sleep there, where I could see her. By 9:30pm, she was down to a 292 and I gave her another correction. She was well on her way to coming back into range. Just another 140 points to go. I ended up dozing off and jumped to my feet when I heard the alarm go off. CRAP! It's 2am!!!!!! I rushed in to the living room and she was sleeping so sound. I ran my hand over her forehead and she was warm again. I didn't have my glasses on but when Herbie showed BG at a 74, I did a double take and then I thought I'd vomit! From over 500 down to a 74....WTF?!?! Talk about shouting "GOOD HELL!!" (thanks Wendy2) It's times like this that you wish you had that damn CGM. I wasn't sure which direction she was going so I gave her one glucose tab. Wait 15 min.... retest.... 97. Ok, so shes coming up but doesn't mean she's gonna stay up. Wait 15 more min....retest.... 114. Still having those pangs in my Mommy gut and couldn't go back to sleep all the way. Reset the alarm to 4am (just in case I doze) get up ....listen to Frankie mumble from the bedroom about "Kacey's poor fingers"...grumble back at him for being an ass at 4am....retest.... 127. Ok....so I can lay back down. Reset the alarm for 6am...get up and retest... 173. Frankie is off work today and I had a sub job for 1/2 day so I went in to work and he kept her at home since her fever was 99.1...ughhhhhh! Now that means no school tomorrow either. THIS SUCKS!

While I was gone, Frankie made her test every hour...LOL!
8am- 225
9am- 334
10am- 415
11am- 258
12pm- 168
How's that for going to the moon and back? UGH! No wonder her head hurts! Mine hurts just thinking about it! I went on and emailed her CDE to see if she could help me any. I'm not sure what to adjust and how much because she's bouncing more than Tigger!

On a good note, her throat is feeling better ....LOL I did end on a good note this time ;)

Hopefully I will hear back from her CDE this afternoon!

Million Dollar Real Estate vs. The Farm

To anyone else, that title wouldn't mean anything but to us it has very special meaning.

Back when Kacey first started pumping, we used to refer to different site places as "real estate". I first heard it called that by Kerri and it was easier for Kacey to understand, "used" or "unused" real estate and where we were going to "build a new house". As time went on, Kacey started to adapt her own meaning of the site placement. Just a few weeks ago, Kacey started to call it "Million Dollar" real estate and "The Farm".

Million Dollar Real Estate~ Her tummy. Thats the "good" spots. It's also the tender spots and where she gets the best blood sugars. That's the expensive stuff ;)

The Farm~ Her back hips. When she needs to give her tummy a break, she likes to have her sites on that fatty part of her hip above her butt cheek. It doesn't hurt quite as bad but she doesn't get as good blood sugars for some reason.

Tonight was site change and because she's been using tons of insulin the last 48 hours, she was down to 7 units in her pump. Usually she has about 15-20 units when it's time to change. I was in washing dishes when she came in and said it was time for site change. I finished up what I was doing and I walked into the living room and she had all the supplies layed out. We have a system and I lay each supply in the same spot before I do anything and then I start the site change. She had it all layed in the right spot and she'd already taken her old site out. She said she was going to surprise me and fill the cartridge but she didn't know how many units to put in it because she's been using more than normal. All I could say was....W-O-W! She'd done all of this on her own and she was READY! This time a year ago, we'd already been to pump class and we were waiting on approval :) Amazing how far she's come in one year!

While I'm filling her cartridge, the first thing I always ask her is, "Are we putting it in Million Dollar real estate or are we going on The Farm?" This way I know how to prep everything. While I was filling her cartridge she piped up and said, "Mom, I think the Million Dollar real estate needs a break and I think we should go grazing out on The Farm." I thought I was gonna crack up laughing! We giggled and I told her that I thought grazing with the cows out there was a perfect idea ;) She then informed me that the Million Dollar real estate was getting crowded and there were too many houses built....as she showed me all her "speckles". I put her new site in her hip and as I pulled out the needle, I moo'd like a cow. We both started giggling again and she said, "Yep! Those cows are happy cuz it didn't hurt!" Ahhhhhhhh! :) I love site changes like this. She's so funny sometimes and even though she's still not feeling 100%, she's still got her sense of humor!

She's finally fever free! Her throat is still a little sore but the white puss is gone and it's just really red. She's played this afternoon, which is always a good sign. So we're going to try going back to school tomorrow and see how it goes. Thanks for all the "get well" wishes :)


****Update****
I don't think she will be going to school tomorrow. She just tested her blood sugar and her pump meter read BG OVER 500!!!! CRAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!! It scared her so bad. She's gone into an emotional tailspin and was crying saying "I'll go back to Million Dollar real estate, I promise" We checked ketones and they are only trace so thats a good sign :( Dammit!!! I hate you Diabetes!

Strep, Diabetes & Drivers Ed

WOW! What a combo that title is!

I took Kacey to the doctor yesterday morning and she's definately got strep throat. Her poor body is completely worn out. HOLY HIGH NUMBERS BATMAN! She's been hanging out in the 300-400 range for over 24 hours now. She's cried...she's whined...she's been irritable....and this strep is taking a toll on her body. She's not had much of an appetite and I even bought her some V-8 Fusion Light to help get some nutrition in her and build her immune system as much as I can. THIS SUCKS! Just sucks! Seeing her so tired like this gives me flashbacks to 2 years ago before diagnosis. She was so tired all the time and VERY whiney! So what's a Mom to do? Your child feels like crap and theres not a single thing you can do to help them feel better. I hate this helpless feeling! Not sure if she's going to make it back to school tomorrow. Hopefully she starts to feel better by the afternoon.

Last night was the mandatory Drivers Ed- Teen Safe Driving class. YOWSA! I'm certainly glad that only Kayleigh and I went. This was NOT something that smaller children should of seen. It was a presentation about safe driving and what COULD happen if you didn't wear your seat belt, you were speeding, you were drinking and driving or you were talking on a cell phone or texting while driving. YUK! I was doing ok until it got to a photo and the state trooper said, "This is what is left of his head." O-M-G! I turned to Kayleigh and she had a wide eyed look on her face. Yep, that was his brains. Ewwwwww! Thank goodness I didn't eat much for dinner! It was definately an eye-opener. Most of the pictures they showed were from local accidents. One of the accidents they showed wasjust 5 miles from our house and there were 5 kids in the car and 4 out of the 5 were killed. Kay has heard me talk about this accident but this was the first time we were seeing pictures from it. Also SO many things have changed since I took Drivers Ed. We did the class through school and then took the driving part right after we finished the class. Well, the VA laws have changed and when a teen gets their Learners Permit, they have to hold it for 9 months before they can take the Behind The Wheel part and it's $125 and taken AFTER school. During that 9 months, the parents are given a book (which we got last night) and it's a 45 hour training book. Its divided into sections and each section is a 2 hour session that should be broken into 4- 30min sessions of training. During these sessions, we are teaching our teen how to drive. YIKES!!! We have 9 months to complete it, then she takes Behind The Wheel with an instructor and then she's given a 180-day provisional license once she shows proof that she's taken the class at school, gone to the presentation we went to last night, completed the 45 hour book and passed the Behind The Wheel. During that 180 days, she still cannot have anyone under 18 in the car with her, she cant drive after 9pm (unless an adult is with her) and absolutely NO driving from 12am-4am. Once that 180 days is up, we will get a notice to appear in court and we have to go before a judge who then issues her a VA State Drivers License. AHHHHHHH!!! I'm REALLY not ready for this! After we left the presentation last night, it was silent in the car. She then spoke up and said, "I don't want J to pick me up and drive me to school now." (J is a friend of hers that got her license not long ago) and I asked her why. She went on to talk about how much that presentation really made her stop and think. YAYYYYY! There were over 100 people there last night and if they got through to just ONE student then they've accomplished something. They definately got through to my daughter! I take Kay to get her Learner's Permit on March 29th. I'll update more about that then.

Kay has a busy week this week. She's got 2 really big cakes going out on Saturday. One of them is a rainbow cake which I know is gonna be REALLY cool. It's a layer cake and each layer is a color of the rainbow. Then she's got a two tier baby shower cake to do. So watch for new pics of those! :)

I also just signed the final copy of her schedule for 11th grade. Yep, I cried again when I signed it. I just can't believe how fast these days are flying! This is what she is taking:

*English 11
*U.S. History
*Algebra 2
*Chemistry
*Accounting
*Culinary 2

She's going to have a very full and busy schedule! Good news....No More Spanish!!! She's done her 3.5 years that she needs for her Advanced Diploma and so she's thrilled! She's done well with Spanish 3 this year and she's holding a solid B in that class. I'm very pleased to see that she pushed through it and made it.

More updates to come!

Getting To Know Me

Ok Shamae....I read your post so here goes....

1. I like to be in charge and organize events but I don't like to stand up and take the credit for it. I like being in the "behind the scenes" role because I don't do well with crowds and speaking in front of people.

2. Whenever we go out to eat, I can never have my back to the door. LOL! Guess I'm too nosey and I have to sit facing the people walking in.

3. I'm a nail biter...always have been and probably always will be. I don't bite them as bad as I did but I can't seem to let my nails go past my finger tips so that means I never have my nails painted (unless we're taking pictures for something) because they don't last.

4. I love coffee! When I stay at home, I drink the whole pot throughout the day and sometimes put on a fresh pot around 4pm and drink it before bed. I have to drink it with creamer and splenda. If I'm out of one or the other then I won't drink it.

5. I hate the smell of vanilla. Vanilla everything....room spray, candles, body spray, lotion and even the coffee creamer! Blech!

6. Over the last few months, I've developed a sensitivity to room sprays and body sprays. I can't be in the room when they are sprayed or shortly after because I start the "asthma cough" and just a month ago I had a full blown attack and had to puff my inhaler twice after my husband sprayed too much body spray when he got out of the shower.

7. I collect Willow Tree Angels. I have 13 of them now and each one has a special meaning and I know that meaning for every one of them :)

8. It took me over a year to accept that someone other than me was capable of caring for Kacey after her diagnosis. I'm a very protective Momma and I was wrestling with the fact that no one could take care of her like I do.

9. I sell AVON. I've been doing it for about 9 years now. After I quit my job teaching, I wanted something to occupy my time (yeah a new baby with colic and reflux wasnt enough...LOL) I've always worn their products and so I figured it would give me a discount on what I was wearing and also give me some extra spending money. I've thought about giving it up since sometimes it's a headache but my customers look forward to getting their books every 2 weeks so I keep it up.

10. I carry my camera everywhere! I'm always worried that I won't have it at one of those moments when I wish I had so I just make it a habit of tossing it in my purse. I've managed to catch some of those thankful moments over the years.

11. Yearbooks & School Pictures. It's something my Mom always made a priority in my life and I've carried on the same with my girls. I have all my yearbooks and still enjoy looking back at them and what was written. I also have an 8x10 of every single school picture from Pre-K-12th grade. My Mom put them in an album for me. I've done the same for my girls. I order the pack of pictures where I can get one 8x10 and they've both gotten a yearbook every year since they started Kindergarten.

12. My favorite candy is Ferrero Rocher and to this day my husband can go pick it out but he calls them "Fresha Rose-a" (long a sound...and the rest sounds like I spelled it) It's hilarious because he knows thats not what they are called but he can never remember the name of them.

13. My nickname is "Sunshine" and I've got a small collection of "Little Miss SUnshine" things. I've always loved that little yellow character! My Grandaddy gave me that nickname when I was a baby and he used to sing the "You Are My Sunshine" song to me. Another weird fact....my name came from a book called "Sunshine" My Mom was going to name me Kelly Jean until she read the book and the little girls name was Jill. She bought the book and gave it to me when I was old enough to read it and understand it.

14. I have 2 tattoos and ever since I took Kayleigh to get her belly button pierced in the same shop I got my tatts done in, I've been thinking about getting another one. Not sure what I want yet or where I wanna put it, but I've got the itch to get "inked" again!

15. I get my feelings hurt very easily and I take everything said to heart. I've always been a people pleaser and when things don't go the way I hope they would then I get bent out of shape. I also get very upset if I think I've hurt someone elses feelings and I feel that I have to apologize and try and make things better as fast as I can. LOL...bottom line....I don't like people being mad at me :)

16. I was driving with Kayleigh last weekend and had these vivid flashbacks. I remember my Mom at the same age that I am now. It was a scary moment because it doesn't seem that long ago since I was Kayleigh's age and I remember loving music and singing along to every song on the radio and my Mom just humming because she didn't know the words. Guess what? I was actually doing that when Kayleigh was belting out the words!!!!

17. I can't seem to accept the fact that I've got gray hair growing in. I put dye on it and within about 3 weeks, I've got more showing through. ***blush*** So I took the tweezers and pulled out 4 of them!!!

18. I miss my minivan. After having to deliver Kayleigh's cakes in a car last week, I've come to the conclusion that I NEED another van! I never thought I'd miss it this much but I do! We're hoping to run across a deal soon and get another one :)

19. Tonight I have to attend the Drivers Ed Safety class with Kayleigh. I can't believe this day has finally arrived and that in about 5 more weeks she will be getting her Learner's Permit. It scares me to think that in only 2 short years she will be graduating!

20. And last but not least....I'm a doodler! I like to draw silly pictures when I'm talking on the phone and if I've called a number out of the phone book then I doodle all over the page that I called from. I keep a notepad on my desk beside my keyboard that I write all over. Usually it's stars and flowers but sometimes I will write my name and draw out from it.

There ya go Shamae! LOL! Some weird and some normal ;) Anyone else reading this, I encourage you to take Shamae's challenge and blog your own "Get To Know Me" :) That was fun!