things change...

Yet again, I have been a bit behind on my blogging...

Things have sure been busy around the Ciani household

 & we have a whole lot to share!

Here at home, we have had a lot of up-coming unfortunate changes with Derrick's deployment. What we thought would be a deployment in March of 2013, is now pushed up to June-July of THIS year. Yes, that means just about a month from now! I cannot say where he is going, but it was a huge shock to both of us. Marring a Man in the Military, you know that they can leave at any time, that at some point they will leave to defend our country. I never thought that it was going to hit me so hard. Being just the two of us, the thought of him being gone never bothered me much as I have always been independent and don't mind the being alone part, but now that we have Madisyn, the thought of him leaving the both of us, him missing out on so much of her 1st year, her first Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and even her first Birthday. He will come back, and will she even remember who he is? SO many thoughts keep running through my head as I try and prepare myself for what is to come...

Madisyn is growing like crazy and changes daily! She is now almost 4 months old (on May 5th). She is now learning to sit up, with the help of her Bumbo. She loves her playmat, swing, and bouncy chair. He favorite toy is still her seahorse & she is still addicted to her "paci". She is currnetly going through a  "Mommy phase" and doesn't like to be held by anyone but a select few ;) 

For my 25th Birthday (April 22nd), I decided to spend the day joining the Breath of Hope Walk to raise money and awareness for Lung Cancer in honor of my Mom. It was a difficult day for me to say the least. I couldn't help but think of the past and every birthday of mine that she made so special. All I kept thinking was, She is the woman who brought me into this world, who raised me to be the Mother that I am to my own child, and she is not even here to see it...

My 1st Birthday - April 22nd 1988

They say that the year of firsts after a loved one is gone is the hardest... but realizing that there will never be another Birthday celebration with her, another Christmas, Thanksgiving or Vacation with her brings be to tears. If you still have your Mom, cherish it! Never take one day for granted! My Mom is my best friend, someone I shared everything with, she was my biggest fan, my everything. This world will not the same without her.

The Space Needle, Seattle - May 2009

I am so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family who came out to support me in my decision to walk and joined with me! I am so thankful for each and every person that came! Each one of you made my Birthday something to look forward to & helped us raise so much for lung cancer

Thank you EVERYONE!! We love you Mom, this one is for you

lagging a little....

Ok, so I admit it... I am horrible at up-keeping on blogging. Between being a full time stay at-home mom, business owner, wife, along with the cleaning, laundry, meeting friends for lunch, grocery shopping, producing orders, searching pinterest, checking facebook, etsy, answering e-mails and spending quality time with my family there never seems to be enough time in a day, week, or even a MONTH sometimes to sit down and catch up on my blogging. So here is my attempt!

A whole lot has sure changed in the past few weeks... Madisyn is now 3 months old! (15 weeks to be exact!) Sleeping mostly through the night, with the normal 4am feeding. I am loving her smiles, giggles and every little moment that we spend together. I have now dubbed her "mommy's personal assistant", as she is with me 24/7. Thank goodness I have a happy baby who loves our business supply shopping trips and can be right next to me in her bouncer, perfectly content while I work away! Of course, there are many "Mommy & Me" playtime breaks throughout the day to get my quality 1 on 1 time with her :)

Derrick has been gone often the past month, as he is doing work-ups for deployment. For those of you non familiar with Military, that simply means he is in the field doing training... A LOT! There is no "set" deployment in the near future as that all has changed now, but the Marine Corps is making sure they get all of the training time that they need. This means that he is gone for a full week, every other week. We have no communication during those times & only see each other on the weekends. For some wives this may seem un-bearable, but I am proud to do it. I am so proud of my husband and amazed at his determination to keep going every single day. We spend many days apart, but it is the days together as a family that make it all worth it!