Yes, it's true, I am in fact having birthday party planning withdrawals!

There, I admitted it!

For those who know me well, planning birthdays, well any event really is something I absolutely adore doing. I do not admit to be a professional on any level, but as a mummy who works full time, blah, blah, blah, I do my best.

I have even blogged about my planning efforts in the past to maybe inspire other mum's to give it a go, and that has worked a little! Yay!

I am a bit ridiculous and start the planning process a little ahead of time. Okay, I admit it as soon as the kids are out the door and my hands are wet from washing up from one party, I'm on the computer browsing Pinterest and other party bloggers sites looking for inspiration for the next party. Don't laugh!

I love planning for Isabella's birthday's and this year she is turning 6. I had ideas about a wild woodland fairy party, and I was brimming over with ideas about the location, the dessert table, decorations, games, costumes, food, everything!

Then we decided as a family that we were going on our dream cruise in 2012 and we would have to be a bit frugal, so, no party. But, even then I couldn't give up the party idea, so I thought we could do an intimate cupcake party at home with patty cake liner garlands draped around the house and sweet frosting and...then

Well, many of you already know what's happened recently. Dan ,my hubby, got very ill and is currently having chemo for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. (I've been blogging about that too lately if you'd like to catch up).
Whilst Dan is doing amazingly well, and our lives are kind of normal again while he continues treatment, the whole thing has dug into our finances and whilst we won't be on the streets, we have had to make a few financial decisions.

So, no birthday party and no cruise.

Now, that's all okay and we have come to terms, almost with those decisions...

This blog isn't about feeling sorry for myself or our family, quite the opposite, we are just SO happy that Dan's treatment is going so beautifully and we know he will be fine.

I however, am not sure how I will ever recover from the withdrawals of not 'doing' a party this year. (HUGE SIGH!!)

We will of course celebrate Isabella's party and there will be friends, probably a mummy/daughter pedicure and a movie with the girls and a sushi lunch. something like that will be fun and wonderful of course and quite suffices for Isabella. In fact, she is quite fine with the whole idea of no party.

No, it's poor mummy that still finds herself scrolling through my Pinterest boards of inspiration...ah well! There's always next year...hmm :)


Enjoy every day!

Kym


p.s. after my recent very serious blogs, I really needed to lighten up and let the world know that the Bozzoli's still have our sense of humour!
xxx

Can you help a dream come true?

My husband, Dan and I have had a lovely, albeit, quiet day celebrating Mother's day with Isabella. I got breakfast in bed and lots of delicious wine and a yummy platter for lunch and I'm sure a yummy barbeque dinner will follow shortly. But today we also had a serious discussion about where things were heading during Dan's cancer treatment and how we were coping financially.
It's a discussion that we had kind of put off for a bit because, well, there were more important things to discuss.
But now, it's time to sit and talk.
We've made a few important decisions, and some of them will affect us in quite different ways. We will be fine at the end of it all but I just don't feel right about one. That is, the decision that we cannot go on the dream cruise that we booked for this December for Christmas and to celebrate Dan's 40th birthday.
So, I have decided before we cancel it altogether to throw it out there, to the universe to see if people will help us to see this dream come true.
It's not an important dream in the scheme of things, but to me, well it is really important. I always wanted to have a huge birthday bash for Dan's 40th, because he is the most important person in my life, apart from Isabella. He is my rock, my love, my life! I don't know what I'd be without him.
If I can make this small dream, which is actually huge, come true, it would be a big dream for me too!
If it happens well, it would be unbelievably fantastic!!
But, if it doesn't then we will find a way ourselves to make it a special time, no matter what.
If you have been following our story and you'd like to help, then please share this page with your friends. Perhaps together, with the help of many giving just a little you can help make this familiy dream become a reality!
Please click on the following link to assist us!

http://www.gofundme.com/m4aus#description

Thank you for sharing your time to share our family story.
xxx

Kym

a long time coming

A number of events have and are occuring that have had me pondering and reflecting on many events and people in my life and how I have become the person I am today. I will be 47 this year and I suddenly realise that I am rapidly approaching that phase called 'middle age'...oh my God! It's terrifying! It's also a relief. I am finding that on a day to day basis I am beginning to have questions about so many things...I almost sound like my 5 year old wanting to know everything and I do mean EVERYTHING right now!


But I digress...as I often do...this blog is about the past...and maybe that will bring us up to speed? Much of what I am about to write is not pleasant, it's not easy to write about, remember and I can't even put some of it down into words, so I won't. This is not about asking for pity or anything actually, it's just a way for me to remember. Most of my memories are happy, joyful and full of love and laughter. Those memories will come too. But for now I need to recall how a very familiar foe entered my life and how I have been able to live on, survive and be happy again.


I need to go way back...


I consider myself a very fortunate person...


I was raised by a mother and father who loved each other and  all 3 of their children unconditionally. I always felt as though my family was proud of me, no matter what. But sometimes I wished I could be better...I don't know why.


My mum was a stay home mum, as most in the 60's were. My Dad was an electrical contractor and had his own business for over 25 years on the Gold Coast. We had everything we wanted or needed which by today's standards meant...very little. We were blissfully happy!!


We were a happy family that did everything together...footy, dancing camping, surfing and parties!


At 18 my world fell apart when my darling mum died from cancer.


She had been unwell for about 3-4 months, in and out of hospital with bouts of severe abdominal pain that nobody really had an answer for but plenty of good guesses. On one of her stays out of hospital she came to me and said she was scared because she had found a lump in her breast.
She wanted me to feel it. It was hard as a rock, small as a pea and sat right behind her nipple...I can still feel it right now. I told her not to worry, it would be okay but to go to the doctor and get it checked. I was scared too.


It was cancer, it was actually a secondary cancer that had spread from her bowel to the breast and her lymph nodes. But, nobody knew it yet. She had a full mastectomy, Christ, did they make a mess of her!
Mum was devastated, she had the most gorgeous boobs and was so proud of them! I thought she was the most beautiful, woman in the world and so did my Dad.


Then the radiotherapy started...I can't remember how long it went for I just remember I drove her to Royal Brisbane Hospital from the Gold Coast on my learner's licence many, many times. I'd sit in the waiting room and see people dealing with the dreadful scars that this hideous disease wreaks on people. I remember one day seeing for the first time a young woman who had lost at least half her face to surgery. At the time I thought to myself, I'd rather die. I'm sure she did too. I don't know what happened to her...but I also remember thinking how strong she must be to deal with this everyday.
Mum's scars were alwful too but she never complained.


There's so much I don't remember from this time probably because I didn't want to know what was happening and partly because I could hide away from it all because I was still studying at Teacher's College Mon-Fri and only come home on weekends.


My friends kept me busy and my job was to do well at college and get that teaching diploma.


Within a 6 month period I saw my very athletic, outgoing, busy, chatty, never sit down and rest mother become frail, tired and quiet.


I saw my life changing without even realising it.


I remember coming home from college one Friday night and my Dad was bringing my mum home from hospital stay number...???? too many to remember. He walked through the door virtually carrying her frail body to their room. He put her in bed and came upstairs to tell us all that she had come home to die...there was nothing else the doctors could do for her.


I just sat there...shock set in and I remember Dad mad me a cup of tea that was so sweet it nearly made me sick...he siad the sugar would help?


My life completely turned upside down in that moment and I don't think I ever recovered from that feeling.


I went through all the normal stages...denial, anger etc. but mostly I just felt numb and everything seemed so quiet and still, the whole world seemed to come to a standstill but it didn't. I'd go to do grocery shopping and people were just normal, smiling, laughing, arguing. It didn't feel, right.
Didn't they all know what was happening? My mother, Robyn, was dying!! She would be gone soon and they wouldn't be able to see her again! No one would, not even me! So, stop! Do something! Anything! But I didn't say any of those things, I just did my shopping like everyone else. No one would have even known my pain, my despair that my world was about to end. It was all so surreal.


The end for my mother was awful, like it is for so many cancer patients, pain, injections to relieve the pain, illness, deliriousness. Horror like I've never imagined...well, not at that time anyway.


When she finally passed around midnight on July 29th, 1984 the night was quiet and still. My mother died in my Dad's arms and he told me later she spoke of me in her final words, wondering if I'd be okay. No, I wouldn't be, she was gone forever and I'd never hear her laugh again. Never see her smile again. Never feel her arms around me again. Never hear her say words of comfort and love. She was gone. She was 39 and I was 18. Too young.


But we went on, I took my sister shopping for an appropriate dress for a 14 year old to wear to her mother's funeral. That in itself felt so wrong. I still see the look on the face of the sales assistant when she told Shelley how nice the dress looked and she said thanks and told her what event it was for. Those looks of pity became very familiar. Now I just abhor them. I've seen them too often. I don't mean that I'm angry at those who show them they don't know how it makes me feel.


Life changed forever after that. Dad was a mess. That's saying it nicely. My brother Brett was gone, living on the Sunshine Coast. Shelley needed me. My Grandmother was there but not for long. She moved to a unit.
Then another nightmare began, but that's a different story, and not one I am prepared to tell yet.

Robyn Faye Green

Dan the Man is coming along nicely, thank you!

Hi all,

I thought it was time for a quick update since the last post was a bit worrying.

Well, things certainly got hairier and scarier before they got better.

First Monday of school hols and we ended up in Emergency when Dan's airways began to become crushed by the enlarged lymph nodes in his chest...then he was admitted to the Oncology ward.

Docs needed to start some kind of chemo treatment because Dan's symptoms were becoming life threatening. So began an aggressive chemo treatment which thankfully only lasted for 4 days.

Day 2 chemo

A few days anxious wait and another biopsy, expert pathology teams working over Easter weekend and we had a final diagnosis after 2 false starts.

It seems they were right to begin with, Hodgkin's Lymphoma, an aggressive form, stage 3B ( which means it was found in lymph nodes above and below the diaphragm and the 'b' indicates the symptoms he was experiencing, night sweats, fever, cough etc).

So began Dan's new chemo regime. 6 months of fortnightly chemo treatments to be administered through outpatient clinic. Phew! This was much better than the original plan of 14 day cycles in hospital every 3 weeks!

So Dan has had his first lot of his scheduled treatment and he is doing really well!

Fatigue is the biggest issue to deal with.

But we managed to get out today! First to the Farmer's Markets and then lunch at the pub. Then down to the marina to look at some boats we might buy when we win lotto this week... :)

His hair is almost all gone so we clipped it but he still looks gorgeous!

Now we just wait out the next 6 months and get back to 'normal'.

It's been amazing having so much support from all the gang at BayView State School. The parent and teachers have supported us with meals and babysitting and offers to do our lawn too!

It's overwhelming and a very emotional time for all of us.

I'm extremely proud of how my little family is dealing with this huge challenge. We couldn't have got this far without all the love and support we get each and everyday.

Thanks to everyone for all you have done.

xxx

A letter to another mother, wife, friend.

Dear Friend,

You sound busy with your beautiful family! I love to read about families and everyday challenges and being able to share just a little of my own life experience with others. So, here’s a little of my story.

I am blessed to be married to an amazing man, Dan, and we have a beautiful, amazing 5, soon to be 6 year old daughter, Isabella.

We are happily married and live a fairly ordinary day to day life, along with the usual challenges of 2 full time working parents raising a child.

I am a prep teacher (full time), and have been teaching for 25 years now. I love it and find it exciting and everyday I laugh out loud at the things kids say to make me realise how precious and wonderful they are.

Dan is a production manager in a glass factory.

Let’s go back a little now.

I lost my mother to cancer when I was 18 and she was 39, that was 1984. It was a relatively short illness with her falling ill and passing away in a space of 6 months. I was incredibly close to my mother, Robyn, I loved her incredible joy of life! My sister, Shelley was 14 at the time and my older brother was living away at the Sunshine Coast living the life of a beach bum...good on him!

My Dad was devastated at the loss of my mother and so I took on a lot of responsibility at this time. I was also halfway through my teaching Diploma at college.

Dad tried to escape his sadness by leaving us to travel the country so I moved out with my little sister and we started to become very independent young women. We were still living together when Shelley was diagnosed in 1995 with aggressive Cervical Cancer at 25, I was just celebrating my 30th birthday and had returned to Uni to complete my B.Ed.

I cared for Shelley through the first 2 years of her illness and she moved into remission during this time, met an amazing man, moved to Sydney and they got married ready to live happily ever after. I went OS for 3 months on Long Service leave for some RnR. I was transferred to Bundaberg to teach in 2001 and it was during this first year there that Shelley fell ill again. I spent the next 3 years flying back and forth from Bundaberg to Sydney to be with her through various surgeries, treatments and finally to be with her when she passed away on Oct 16, 2003. I was completely devastated, she was my baby sister and I loved her so very much. It was also during these 3 years that I met Dan and we had a long distance love affair travelling to be with each other between Bundaberg and Brisbane. I grew to love him more and more as he was always there for me and my family.

I was transferred back to Brisbane in 2004 and Dan and I became engaged and then married in 2005, I fell pregnant on our honeymoon turned 40 in Nov that year and on May 31st 2006 delivered our precious Isabella Rose. There’s more to that part of the story but suffice to say she was a blessing from my angels in heaven!

The next 5 years were the usual family challenges, sleep deprivation, tantrums and fun and games! I loved every minute of it.

2012

We decided after an ‘interesting’ family Christmas in 2011 that in 2012 we would go away on our first family cruise in Dec for Christmas and to celebrate Dan’s 40th birthday which falls on the 27th Dec. Holiday booked and so begins 2012...

Dan went back to work after Christmas holiday with flu like symptoms and a terrible, annoying cough...

11 weeks later...

Mar 31

We have just spent 5 weeks toing and froing from doctors and have just spent the last week going to the PA hospital everyday for lengthy waiting and tests of all sorts to find out whether Dan has Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. In the past month he has had CT scans, bone marrow biopsy, fine needle aspirations, lymph node biopsy, blood tests ( lots of those), chest x-rays, etc. Now we know that come Monday we will have a definite diagnosis...we ‘hope’ for Hodgkins, it is probably the lesser of all the evils it could be. If so, then we expect to hear at next Thursday’s clinic appointment that Dan will begin treatment very quickly and hopefully chemo and radiation will be the extent of a treatment that will see my darling husband well again.

I never imagined that I would be sitting in oncology units again after doing this twice before...the sights, sounds, smells are an assault on my senses and it is reeling to be affected so strongly this way. I never let Dan see that it affects me when I smell or hear things that bring memories back from a time I’d rather forget. That is where my woebegone state ends.

I have an amazing family...the 3 of us are together and I know we’ll be strong for each other no matter what. Isabella has been wonderful, amazing actually. We have explained to her as best we can what is going on so far as we know, and kept her daily schedule as normal as possible so far. I’m so lucky to have an absolute treasure of a friend and colleague in my Teacher Aide, Lyndall, who has helped with Isabella almost everyday for the past month as well as keep my classroom running when I haven’t been there.

The families at school and my colleagues have all been wonderful with their kind words of support and encouragement.

I cannot abide people who dwell in self sorrow, so we don’t, but I do admit that there have been times when I have quietly shed tears not because I am facing this foe again, because it feels unfair to be SO familiar with everything that this disease is and does to good people and families, in particular, my family.

I will never let my darling sister down by being a ‘sad sack’ because whenever we would feel a bit of self woe she was always the first to say “Oh pull yourself together! Don’t you know there are others out there suffering much worse than I?”

Her strength, courage, dignity and love will always be my strength. My mother’s laugh will always ring from my heart and my smile will always be there for my family along with loving arms to hold us together.

I wish you a wonderful Easter to you and yours.

Kind Regards

Kym

A Bozzoli Christmas Menu

I thought I'd share what the Bozzoli family is planning for lunch tomorrow.

Nibblies include grown up and kid friendly rum balls, choc topped mince pies, shortbread, lollies, maltesers, choc truffles...yes, heaps of naughty nibblies.

Then entree's will be Margaret Fulton's salmon crepe rolls

and then Dan's chilli prawn skewers and oysters mornay

Mains will be roast turkey breast with cranberry sauce, roast BBQ leg of pork with apple sauce and leg ham.

accompanied by potato salad, prawn, mango, avocado salad and basil, roma tomato and bocconcini drizzled in balsamic and oil.

For dessert we will have a traditional plum pud with lashings of brandy custard and ice cream and mango and passionfruit trifle.

With all this there will plenty of bubbles flowing and a lovely fruity punch.

I'll be sure to take lots of pics, I think Santa might be bringing me a new camera! Fingers crossed.

Oh can't forget that tonight we'll leave a glass of milk, some cookies and carrots out for Santa and Rudolph too!

Not long now everyone!!

Merry Christmas from the Bozzoli's

xxx

Christmas 2011- We love Christmas!

Most people who know me also know my love for this time of the year. I get so excited when I see the first decorations in the shops and I smell summer in the air. It means Christmas is just around the corner!

It also means making lots of lists!

I am indeed a bit of a list freak. Lists for menus, lists for shopping, lists of presents, lists of shops to buy the presents, lists of decorations to buy and so on.

Fortunately my patient husband, Dan is also a Christmas fanatic, phew!

His big thing is Christmas lights. Don't get me wrong, we don't enter the light competitions and we still have a way to go but we do make a pretty good light display.

So, this year I thought I'd share some images, thoughts and ideas for my Christmas blog.

Let's start with the lights.

Here are a few of the lights around the house this year. Although some new ones have been added...so I'll try and add them later.

Don't they look pretty?

We took Isabella for a visit to the Myer Centre in the city this year. It was something I remember doing with my brother and sister and my mum when I was a young girl.

It was a bit different now I'm grown but still magical! Isabella loved it but has started asking questions about why that Santa is different to Santa at our local shops where she usually has her photo.

Hmm, I think we got around it but perhaps that's a subject for another blog?

 Isn't her dress adorable? It's a label called 'Jelly the Pug' from the US, and was available through my gorgeous friend Emma at Miley Matilda, but I'm pretty sure these sold out super fast!

The window display this year was gorgeous!

Then it came time for me to start decorating the house inside.

This year I decided we would have a silver, red and white theme.

The Bozzoli Christmas tree is an exception to this rule...we add a new decoration every year. This is something Dan and I decided when we were first together. Isabella will take her's with her when she moves out as a grown up and begin her own family tradition.

I am really happy with the results of my many little treasures I have been collecting for months!

My Dad and step mum, Mary are visiting with my step-sister and us this Christmas so I thought I'd let them help Isabella prepare her Gingerbread train...it was such a sickly, sweet, sticky mess...but heaps of fun!

So, we have well and truly got Christmas under control! I have all my presents ready to wrap and food bought and ordered so what now?

Enjoy, relax and eat, drink and be merry!

Merry Christmas to all my beautiful friends and family!

xxx