Innocent childhood friendships

To say I am proud is an understatement.
When you hear your kids talk about their friends, all the fun things they do together, when they mention "new" friends names, it makes me smile.
Our little man Cooper, used to only ever talk about three friends at creche.  Now, he lists everyone there as his friend and I have to check out all the photo's and cross reference their names, just so that I know who he is talking about.
One of his newest friends runs up and hugs him when he arrives at creche.  He bear hugs him with a genuine love, his eyes light up when he see's Cooper. Cooper proudly yells "Mum, this is my friend Isaac".
My heart is warm and fuzzy, the innocence of childhood is wonderful. I'm proud that my boys are not judging their friends, they don't see any differences, they just see friendships.
Why am I writing this, and why am I proud?
Isaac has Downs Syndrome.
To me this does not make a difference.  To my children, this does not make a difference. To others, they see a difference.
I wish that innocent childhood friendships always remained, but I know that they don't.
All as I can do is hope that we raise our boys with the right values, with kind hearts, showing them that no one deserves to be treated differently.
That everyone is unique in their own way, that everyday a friend needs your hand to hold and sometimes they need a big bear hug too!

Reality is raw

Today for the first time since her diagnosis, for the first time in five months, my mum looks like she has cancer.
Her hair had started to fall out over the past week, a simple touch, and you had hair in your fingers.  It was floating down onto her clothes..... each morning when she woke up, there was hair on her pillow. When I walked through her door, I could not believe how whimsical her hair had become.
The reality was setting in, my mum was losing her hair, our "interesting" journey on the yellow brick road was taking a turn.
My sister and I had turned up to do some cleaning and gardening at my parents house.  When someone becomes sick for such a great period of time, household chores take a serious back burner.  We have all been contributing to try and get my parents home, back on track.
My sister took along her clippers to see if mum was ready to have her head shaved, she was.  She said that she had been crying in the shower about losing her hair, the inevitable was near. I have been dreading the day that she was going to lose her hair.  You know it is part of the process, but nothing prepares you for that moment. That moment when her hair is gone and she looks sick, she looks like she has cancer. She only looked at herself briefly in the mirror, no doubt seeing the reflection of a woman who did not look like her.
We could see that dad was struggling, sadness in his eyes as he had just watched the love of his life lose her hair.  He encouraged her to try on her wig, the one that he had chosen - we are so proud of how strong he has been on this journey. We helped her put on her wig, and it instantly changed her.  She no longer looked sick, and it brightened her up and made her feel better.  She left it on for the rest of the afternoon and still had it on when we all left.
I walked into the kitchen at one stage and mum and dad were there - dad said to mum "how you going sorty?". I said to dad, "do you think you have yourself a new girl now?" We had a laugh, you have to grab those light hearted moments whenever you can.
I took some photo's of mum today so she can reflect on them throughout her journey.  At this stage, these moments are only for my family, we need to respect mum's privacy at present.
As I said, reality is raw, sometimes so raw, you don't want to face it.  However, the upper hand is sometimes forced and no matter what you try and do, you have to face it at some stage.

My parents gave me my birthday card today, the most beautiful card that I have received from them. I know that it was hand picked with love, and they would give this card to all of my sisters if it was their birthday too.  We are all treated equally, so much love shared amongst us.

The words printed on it are as follows;

For our Daughter
If you could see yourself the way we see you,
you'd know how truly special you are
You're a loving person and a caring daughter
all the things that would make any parents proud
On your birthday and every day,
thoughts of you are filled with love
because you're such a wonderful daughter

To my beautiful mum, no matter what this journey brings, no matter what you are forced to face, your loving husband and four aces are right beside you, each and every step of the way.

Totally loving my birthday gifts!

A pampering voucher for Akuna Spa

Super cute clutch for our girls nights out!

New books to read

Bright jeans for summery days

Dolce and Gabbana perfume

Elwood work out tops

Make up and toilet bag and a scarf!

Plus a shopping voucher and a super cute porcelain owl - need to take a snap of him.

Spoilt or what?

Who is loving the bright pastel colours out this season?

Oh, and I wish it was my birthday everyday!!

Day of birth

Today was my day of birth, just a few years ago now............
I'm so grateful that I was born into this world with two of the most amazing parents.
Their strength and love for each other and my family has been the reason that we can go on each day.
Some days seem a little harder than others, tears have been shed, text messages flow constantly and so do the phone calls. Having a loved one battle the cancer disease and everything that goes along with it, truly tests your emotions to the inner core.

Today being my birthday, made me reflect on a lot of things in life.
-  How age isn't an issue for me, I'm just happy to be alive!
- I've been given the opportunity to be a mother of two little boys (full on at times, well most of the time!), but some of my friends have given their all to try and bring just one little person into the world.

However, the biggest thing that affected me today, was speaking with my mum.  The amazing woman who gave birth to me and has given me everything in life that a mother can.  She has apologised because she hasn't been able to organise a birthday card for me - to me, that's the last thing I expect her to do.
To her, it means the world.
Her coming home from hospital today, was the best present I could have received. The highs and lows of the past week have impacted us all.  Most days I just want to cry, the exhaustion of a loved one suffering tends to take its toll on everyone.
This is my mum, the person whose heart I have felt beat from the inside.
Courage is her middle name
The reality is setting in as to what the treatment is doing...........her hair is starting to fall out..............the next time I see her, she may not have any hair.  She thought she would be ok with it, however, now reality is kicking in.
Today as I celebrate my birthday, I'm grateful for being born to one of the strongest mum's in the world, and a dad who is supportive every step of the way.

October is breast cancer awareness month, please support the breast cancer foundation, you never know when this disease will touch your life.

The sun shone a little brighter today

September 11 - 11 years ago today, the world changed when two planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York.  Killing innocent human beings, devastating people's lives, destroying hope.

My sister was due to be in those buildings on that day 11 years ago, but due to being heavily pregnant with my nephew, she wasn't allowed to fly.  Someone was definitely looking out for her on this day.

So, when I received the letter in the mail saying that our youngest little man was due to have his grommets inserted on the 11th of September - today, I was met with a little hesitation.  Would everything be smooth sailing for what is known as a minor operation?  Or would there be a hiccup, just because it was September 11?  This was also his first operation, and being so little, I felt a pang of hurt in my stomach.  He was very upset from the moment we walked into the hospital - it could have been due to the factor that I had to drag him out of bed at 5:30am just to get there on time, on an empty tummy, hiding his bottle and food from him.  The poor little guy was so hungry and did not enjoy having his name tags and gown put on.  He even tried to rip off the sterile hat and gown that they put on mummy.  When it came time for him to lay on me and have the gas mask put on him, it took three people plus me to hold his limbs down. He was absolutely hysterical and I had to be so strong and hold back the tears as he fought so hard to fight the sleepiness. Then it took control of him and they took him from me and laid him on the operating table.  The poor little guy looked so lifeless and helpless, I said "see you soon little man" and then it was time for me to go.
The hospital was brilliant, I think when you are working with kids, you really do have to go the extra mile.  The surgeon rang me as soon as the operation was over, just to tell me he was ok and they would page me when he was ready for me in recovery.  That was 10 minutes later as the little guy was hysterical once again and the whole of the recovery room could hear him.  Once he was on me, he started to calm..........but then it all started up again when he had to go back in the cot up to his ward.  As soon as we got to the children's ward, he crashed out on me and slept for about 1 & 1/2 hours.  He was sedate for most of the afternoon until we got home and he saw his brother and away they went together.
Fingers crossed these little tubes will help ease ear infections and the pain and suffering that goes along with them.  There has been a lot of sleepless nights, doctors and antibiotic bills.  As I cuddled my little munchkin into bed tonight, I realised that September 11, 2012 bought good news and hope.

There was another reason I was dreading today - my mum was getting her latest ct and bone scan results. The bone scans came back clear of cancer, the ct scans showed that she still has pesky marks on her right lung and near her heart.  They were hoping that these may have been due to when she had pneumonia, but they have not cleared, so they may mean something else.  After a short delay, she is now starting chemo next week - and we are all hoping that these "marks" are hit with the chemo.  She is prepared, has a new cropped hair do in readiness for losing her hair in the coming weeks.  Today she looked radiant and I told her that her new hair style suited her.  It's a shame she is going to lose it, but with new hair growth comes hope - and she is going shopping for a wig this week too!!
What a journey we have been on with her.....next week the journey takes us on a different chapter with new challenges to face.  For her, September 11, 2012 also has bought hope for a healthier future.

I hope that the sun shone a little brighter for you all today.

Daffodil Day

Tomorrow is Daffodil Day - Daffodil day is for all of us to grow hope for a brighter, cancer-free future.
The Daffodil represents a bright growth for a healthy future.
The Daffodil is the international symbol of hope for all touched by cancer.
This year this day means a lot more to me than any other year.
Sam Stynes, wife of the late Jim Stynes spoke recently on 3AW about this "hideous" disease.  She spoke from the heart and was brutally honest as to how cancer affects your life.  Some might say that some of her comments about Jim were cruel, but they need to remember that this was her husband.  She loved him deeply and this crippling disease shattered the lives of her, their kids and the family.
If you haven't been touched by this evil, you are one of the lucky one's.
I used to think I was a very strong person, but each time I hear the mention of cancer now, tears well in my eyes.
I hate that my mum is battling this disease, that she is spending her days in and out of hospital.
And now she is hooked up to a machine to drain the excess bad blood from her, as her wound still has not closed from her last operation around six weeks ago.  Somebody give my mum a break!!!
Further treatment is now delayed until her wound has healed. It feels like we have taken one step forward and six steps backward.
Today I was walking towards a lady who clearly was having treatment for some form of cancer.  She had no hair and was wearing a warm beanie to try and keep her head warm.  The pale skin, dark eyes, look of extreme sickness on her face.  I gave her the biggest smile that I could - a smile and expression on my face to show that I really cared. It hit me then, that in a few months time, that is what my mum will look like.  And I hope that when people see her, they to will give her a nice warm smile to make her day.
Today I bought mum the biggest teddy bear that you could buy to support Daffodil Day.  I hope it will bring her comfort and be her friend on this "interesting" journey.



Please support Daffodil Day tomorrow and give to Cancer Research.  You never know when it will touch the life of someone that you love.

Realisation

Realise the value

To realise
The value of a sister/brother
Ask someone
Who doesn't have one.

To realise
The value of ten years:
Ask a newly
Divorced couple.

To realise
The value of four years:
Ask a graduate.

To realise
The value of one year:
Ask a student who
Has failed a final exam.

To realise
The value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realise
The value of one month:
Ask a mother
Who has given birth to
A premature baby.

To realise
The value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realise
The value of one minute:
Ask a person
Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realise
The value of one second:
Ask a person
Who has survived an accident.

Time waits for no one.

Treasure every moment you have.

You will treasure it even more when
You can share it with someone special.

To realise the value of a friend or family member:

LOSE ONE.

Remember....

Hold on tight to the ones you love!

To realise the value of hope

Talk to a cancer survivor or someone battling cancer

To realise the value of supporting breast cancer research

Please don’t wait until you’re effected by it.