Meet a Rockin’ Chesco Mom…wife, business owner, sewing maven, breast cancer survivor and friend.

Earlier this month we introduced you to Colleen from Classy Mommy, but since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month we wanted to introduce you to another Rockin‘ Chester County Mom….our friend K.C.

K.C. (she goes by her initials -has since she was a little kid.) is a loving wife to husband Mike, Mommy to adorable, daughter, Lilly, owner of The Diaper Bag Wrangler, and a one-year breast cancer survivor. Read on to hear what motivated and inspired her during treatment, how she juggles being a mommy, cancer patient, & business owner, and learn just how awesome our friend K.C is! This “interview” was between Chesco Mom contributor, Cailtin & K.C.

Caitlin: Your cancer was not hereditary, how did you find out you had it?
K.C: I found a lump near my armpit – it hurt and felt like a pea. I really thought it was just an inflamed lymph node but my OB/GYN decided to send me for a precautionary mammogram. The monitor just lit up with white and I knew that was not good. I felt bombarded when I met with the Radiologist to go over the mammogram results. Everyone knew what we were dealing with, but no one could not say the “C” word until the biopsy results came back. I found out a few days later that it was cancer. Two weeks later I had a double mastectomy, the pathology results showed that I had aggressive Stage 2 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma with ER+, PR+ and Her2/neu+ receptors. I also found out that I am BRCA2 +.
Caitlin: Your daughter is so young, how did you explain what you were going through to her?
K.C: My daughter Lilly was 2.5 when I was diagnosed. There’s a good side and a bad side to that. The good side is she was still so young that it didn’t really phase her. She thought nothing of my bandages, “boo-boos”, doctors appointments, hair loss. It was just our everyday life to her. The bad side is that little kids need lots of assistance, I still had to be mom- change diapers, give baths, make dinner, take out the dog, grocery shop.

Caitlin: Where/from whom did you draw the most support during your treatments?
K.C: I had great support from my husband, family and friends. My brother would come over to watch Lilly when I went to chemo and my husband Mike did everything he could to help me out- he even took over the household duties 100% on weekends. But I think that I relied a lot on myself to get through this. I knew that I couldn’t just crawl in bed and pretend like this wasn’t happening. I had to be strong and stay positive. There were some really, really bad days and everyone would rally around me and just say…look how far you’ve ALREADY come!

Caitlin: When sewing became nearly impossible due to numbness in your fingers, did you panic? In those days, how did you escape/relax?
K.C: Periphial neuropathy is a common side effect of chemotherapy. It causes numbness in your hands and feet, which eventually subsides. There were some days when I would be ironing and I wouldn’t even feel the hot steam on my fingers. It becomes very dangerous, so I had to use more caution when doing things. I worried how long it would last, if it would be permanent, but I never panicked. Even now I have some days where my fingers don’t seem to “work right” but for the most part it went away.

Caitlin: Were you confident that you’d be back to your old self as soon as you were?
K.C: I actually thought I’d feel “normal” a lot sooner! My last chemo was January 5th, but it took until about April before I felt like I was back to “me”. I gained some weight from the steroids I was on and that made me feel more uncomfortable than the hair loss!! I am still getting a “low dose chemo” treatment called Herceptin which has minimal side effects, so between that and the hormone therapy I am on I don’t think I’ll ever get back to 100% normal, maybe just a “new normal”.

Caitlin: Have you found inspiration in your cancer, treatments, or survival?
K.C: Definitely! I was always proactive about my health, but when you are faced with cancer, you learn to fight a little bit harder. You seek out the best doctors, best treatment, best support, best information, and you become an active participant. I’m also trying to really live my best life- travel, being with my family and friends, pushing myself to try new things. It gives you a whole new perspective.

Caitlin: During treatment, what things could you not live without?
K.C: The silly things like apple juice, pancakes, hard candies, and comfort food!

Caitlin: In your opinion, how can somebody support a friend or a family member who is going through breast cancer treatment?
K.C: OFER TO HELP! Pre-made dinners that you can freeze and reheat are wonderful. Give gift certificates for take out/pizza/fast food, or make arrangements to bring over a warm meal. But here’s the thing- be thoughtful. Don’t just show up on someones doorstep at 5pm with an entire meal prepared. Although you have great intentions, it’s best to make arrangements a few days in advance to drop off food. Also offer to help CLEAN. There were some days I could hardly walk up the stairs, let alone push a vacuum around the house or scrub a toilet. Especially with having such a weak immune system during chemo, it’s important to keep a clean home.
BABYSIT– my friend Danielle was a LIFESAVER- despite having 3 children ages 5 and under, she would watch Lilly anytime and every time I asked. One day I was so exhausted I called and asked if we could come over so I could sleep (at her house!) for an hour.

Caitlin: What would you suggest saying to someone who just was diagnosed?
K.C: When you first get diagnosed you’re in total shock and you fear the unknown. You become a little selfish because everything feels like it’s being taken away from you. Plus you are bombarded with doctors, tests and everyone calling 24/7 wanting to know what’s going on. If it’s someone you are very close with like family or a good friend, let them know that you are there for them- and then FOLLOW THROUGH with that promise. Or if it’s someone who is more of an acquaintance, just let them know that they are in your thoughts. I had several friends and doctors “set me up” (it felt like a blind date!) with other young cancer patients, many of them were young moms just like me. It was great having someone who has BEEN THERE, I have since made some great friendships with other cancer survivors.

Caitlin: Now that you are a one year breast cancer survivor, what are you goals? Short-term? Long-term?
K.C: I made all my treatment choices so I would be here on this earth for another 30, 40, 50 years. I want to see my daughter grow up and just enjoy living my life. I still have a long road ahead of me, but I have faith that whatever happens is meant to be. I’m looking forward to my breast reconstruction surgery which I chose to postpone until my IV treatments were complete.

Caitlin: What can we expect to see in the coming years from The Diaper Bag Wrangler?
K.C: I had to scale back my business a little bit during my treatments, but I never stopped! I’m looking forward to growing my brand awareness, taking on new wholesale and boutique clients and streamlining our products. I also recently started teaching adult sewing classes at the ACPPA Community Art Center and for the Spring-Ford Community Education Department. I hope to take on additional classes, offer private lessons and host sewing parties!
(If you are interested in sewing lessons or fun sewing parties Click here to contact K.C)

Caitlin: Anything additional you’d like to add?

K.C: I wrote this on my blog the day I was diagnosed with cancer, August 18, 2008.
“So today I officially became a 30-year-old with breast cancer. This is who I am now, but it’s not who I’m going to be for the rest of my life. It’s a detour.”
Every time I read those 3 sentences I think of how we each have our own battles, how you can replace “breast cancer” with any adjective and it can apply to you. I have found strength that I never knew I had, I have found humor in facing my worst fears and that malignant tumor that was growing inside of me… it messed with the wrong person, and never stood a chance!

Special thanks to Caitlin Domanico Photography for many of the beautiful photos of K.C and her family. Check out http://www.caitlindomanico.com for more info.

Meet a Classy Chesco Mommy…

Colleen Padilla, originally from Chester County and a 1994 graduate of Downingtown Senior High is a full time mom to her 2 children, Mackenzie (4) and Kyle (almost 2) and the founder of Classy Mommy.com

Colleen and the Classy Mommy website have been featured on on Fox News, Good Morning America, The New York Times, Parenting Magazine, local Philadelphia ABC, CBS, and NBC programs. (click here to read/view interviews)Colleen has also appeared in a TV special about Alpha Moms on South Korea & NBC affiliate SBS.

Classy Mommy is an indispensable website for moms featuring fabulous products that can be easily accessed in one of the largest catalogs of independent baby product reviews on the Web with over 1400 product reviews, fabulous giveaways for readers, and lively videos.

Classy Mommy started vlogging product reviews with her children testing out the latest gadgets & gifts in 2006 before vlogging was really in anyone’s vocabulary. Her vlogs have since been featured as part of Johnson & Johnsons’s Real Mom Series along with incorporating vlogging into sponsored campaigns with major companies like Healthy Choice and Better Homes & Gardens.

Colleen has a B.A. in Anthropology and an MBA, both from Cornell University. She has worked in Corporate America for Ford Motor Company and Wells Fargo (where she worked with Chesco Mom Sarah. Colleen was the Marketing Manager and Sarah was an Area Sales Manager). After Colleen left Wells Fargo she worked at Sanofi-Aventis Pharmaceuticals. In her spare time, when she’s not blogging or taking care of the kiddies, she loves to go for a run, escape with a fabulous book, or spend time in the outdoors with her husband.

Today, this energetic Mom, is a social media consultant, mom expert, and brand advocate. She was a featured speaker at Blissdom 2009 and will speak on the topic of “Ethics and Blogging” at the upcoming Blog World 2009 Conference in Las Vegas. Colleen serves as a spokesperson for Energizer rechargeable batteries, is an active member of Walmart’s 11 Moms online community, and a member of Frito Lay Fab 15. But she says nothing compares to being a Mom!

An Afternoon with April Margera: PART 2

As you read in “An Afternoon with April Margera: Part 1”, ChesterCountyMoms.com on the day we met with April in her Chester County home, we were treated to a tour of her amazing home. Read all about it here. After the tour, we were able to talk with April about some of our most burning questions for the Chester County Mom of 2 and Grandmother of 3!

As we settled ourselves on April’s beautiful wrap-around porch, conversation quickly turns to the most pressing question we had for April. We wanted to know how April was able to do IT. Mothering is certainly one of the most complex jobs ever. We needed to know how April was able to provide Bam with such a strong support system and protect him from the overtly dangerous aspects of his skateboarding and pranks (at least in his earlier years) while still letting him express himself and having the space he needed to be creative and pursue his interests (crazy as they are) all while encouraging Jess to follow his passion for music. April notes that there were many, many tears shed throughout the years as her kid’s grew up and her kitchen was painted blue, or when the boys dug a tunnel under the house or jumped off of the roof…for fun, but throughout it all she has always had faith in her sons and loved them unconditionally.

One of things April enjoys most is watching Jess be a dad. She also marvels at how lucky she is to have two wonderful daughter in laws in Kelly and Bam’s wife Missy.

It is clear very early in our talk that April just has a knack for being that go-to Mom. Sarah shared with her stories of her son at age 2 being a walking tornado with no fear and told April that if in 10 years she gets a phone call with someone sobbing on the other end of the phone..it would be Sarah asking for advice. April said no problem..”I’ll walk you through it”.

One of the many very interesting things that April shared with us about her sons was that they both possess a supreme sense of drive and determination. She told us of a time when Bam was in grade school and he wrote a list of goals. The list included items such as becoming friends withTony Hawk (successful skatebording professional), skating in professional tournaments, and owning a Lamborghini. Jess, also from an early age knew he wanted to be a musician. April’s brother is a musician and having seen first hand how tough the music industry can be to break into she was unsure of what kind of career Jess would have. Being a determined woman, she decided that she and Phil would do everything that they could to support their sons and it is with that kind of mothering that she is proud to say that both of her children are successful, happy people, doing what they love to do. Jess is currently on tour with his band CKY and Bam was in Seattle with the CKY tour on the day of our visit. He had called his mom earlier that day to tell her that he had met the Jonas Brother’s while on the west coast.

We asked April if she has ever considered moving to the west coast and she said no. She enjoys being able to go to the grocery store and go out to dinner with out being bothered by photographers. She said California is nice to visit, but West Chester is where she calls home.

We asked what was the strangest moment she has had since her new found fame? She said for years as a hairdresser she always helped people get ready for balls and formal affairs and never thought she would get to experience that lifestyle. Now she is walking red carpets and people that she has read about in magazines or watched in movies actually want to meet her.

Throughout the course of the afternoon, we had so much fun talking about all things April, including her fantastic cookbook called “There’s An Alligator In My Kitchen“. When asked about her cooking skills, April replied that she learned her way around the kitchen and out of necessity. During the early years of Bam’s skating career, the boys would practice skating tricks for hours with friends then they would ALL converge upon her house and would be starving. She learned quickly to keep basics in her pantry and keep her freezer stocked. April thought if she could please scores of hungry boys taking over her kitchen, hopefully she could ward off pranks for a few days. The title of April’s cookbook comes from the scene in Jackass:The Movie when the Jackass boys surprised April with a REAL Alligator in her kitchen. “There’s An Alligator In My Kitchen” highlights April’s favorite recipes (a few Jackass faves too) and family photos. You have to try the “Bam Bars” They are D-lish!

So what is next for the Margera clan now that filming for MTV is completed? Well taking a break and relaxing surely isn’t in the cards. The Margeras are as busy as ever. Bam is part owner inThe Note, which is a great live music venue in downtown West Chester and also hosts a weekly show on Sirius called Radio Bam. April herself is making the desserts for The Note..and..YUM! We got to sample her “Hula Cake” and brownies and they are so good! April also has another book in the works and she and her husband, Phil, are very actively involved in the management of the music and entertainment careers of both sons. April is also very engaged in her role as grandmother these days to her son Jesse’s 3 children. Currently Jesse is in the middle of a nationwide music tour with one of the 3, yes 3, music groups that he is part of. April relishes being able to help out her daughter-in-law by helping out in any way she can when Jesse is out on the road.

What else…? Stay tuned. We can’t wait to see what fun stuff the Margera Family has in store for us. They are certainly a lively family, but more importantly a close family bound together with love and support for each other. We enjoyed our afternoon with April so much that we all lost track of time. We shared lots of laughs and it was truly an honor to meet such a wonderful Chester County Mover and Shaker!

Want more delicious recipes from April? Click on the link above to order…

April Cooks: There’s an Alligator in My Kitchen

An Afternoon With April Margera Post Photographs courtesy of Caitlin Domanico

www.caitlindomanico.com

An Afternoon with April Margera: PART 1

You probably know April Margera as “Ape”, the target of many off-the-wall pranks on several MTV hit shows including “Jackass“, “Viva La Bam” and “Bam’s Unholy Union“, but there is so much more to “Ape” than what you have seen on TV.

April Margera, one of Chester County’s most famous moms, is a star in her own right. April is a cookbook author, hair dresser, businesswoman, artist, painter, gardener, seamstress and dessert maker extraordinairre. But, what is April’s favorite life role? None other than being a down to earth, supportive wife to her husband of 33 years Phil, proud and loving mother to sons Jess and Bam (real name Brandon. His Grandfather nick-named him “Bam” as a child because he always ran into things) and doting grandmother to Jess and Daughter-in-Law Kelly’s three adorable children.

We recently had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with April in her beautiful Chester County home; chatting over homemade “Hula Cake” (recipe below) and lavendar lemonade.
When we first arrived, we were greeted at the door by April watering her flowers on her front porch. She welcomed us in and within minutes showed us pictures of her grandchildren. She beamed as she spoke of them. We sat and talked kids, toys and decorating while April was making lunch for Phil & his brother Vincent, (better known as Vito), who were hard at work in their home office. Talking with April was like talking with one of your girlfriends. She is funny, open and inviting. After lunch was delivered to Phil & Vito, April invited us on a tour of her home.

Despite years of enduring endless pranks, midnight renovation projects, stunts and both skateboarding and iceskating rinks installed INSIDE the house, the Margera’s well-appointed home seems like something plucked right out of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. April is so creative and enjoys refinishing furniture and handpainting murals throughout her home. She told us that one of her greatest pleasures is finding an old beat up piece of furniture and bringing it back to life with a fresh coat of paint. When asked about this seeming dichotomy of her beautifully decorated space versus the destruction that has occured on camera and off, April was quick to point out that painting and decorating are her “therapy”!

As we toured the house, we were guided through rooms that looked so different from when they were shown on TV. We visited Bam’s bedroom, now the Margera grandchildren’s nursery. The room is beautifully decorated with vintage pieces and floral patterns, a vast change from the Jackass Star’s bedroom. April told us that shortly after she was done redecorating the bedroom, Bam was home for a visit and unknowingly went into his bedroom to get something only to open the door and find that his trap door was secured shut and that his once rockin’ room was tuned into a peaceful baby nursery. April joked that making Bam’s room frilly and pretty was payback for years of torment.

A not-so-common spot in the house is certainly their wall of fame. In the back stairwell leading to the second floor, the Margera’s have all of their backstage passes cleverly displayed amid a sea of framed pictures of the family meeting a variety of fun celebrities from Billy Idol to Billy Crystal. April liked pointing out that she “was in bed with Billy Idol” (although it was to do filming!). Their increasing fame has certainly had it’s perks as they’ve become dear friends with many of the famous faces on their wall.

The lower level of the home was once April’s art studio. It was her place to paint and relax. As the years have gone by, her studio has turned into Phil’s office, where he keeps a watchful eye on Jess’s music career and Bam’s ventures. We got to talk with Phil briefly in between phone calls and he was just a nice as you would imagine him to be.

Our tour concluded in the Margera’s backyard oasis. April is an avid gardener. One would think with the level of fame her family has found that she would have gardeners caring for her property. Not the case! She is a do it yourself kind of gal! She is very proud of her backyard garden and spends hours pruning and weeding.

After our home tour, we were lucky enough to get to sit down with April on her porch and discuss the many aspects of her life. Check out “An Afternoon with April Margera: PART 2” that we’ll post tomorrow for much more fun information about April and her famous family!

Want some delicious recipes from April? Click on the link above to order

April Cooks: There’s an Alligator in My Kitchen

April Cooks “There’s An Alligator In My Kitchen” Book Cover Photo – Ryan Gee

An Afternoon With April Margera Post Photographs courtesy of Caitlin Domanico www.caitlindomanico.com