Almost a year? Really?

I can't believe that it has been almost a year since I updated Mia's blog! I guess life has been THAT crazy. So, I guess I will get everyone caught up. Last June Mia finished her interferon treatments which was nothing short of amazing. On July 20th, 2009 Mia was declared cancer free, which could have been the best thing in the world to all of her friends, family and supporters. A gift for her to mark such an amazing journey had to be nothing short of amazing. So we picked up Miss Georgia Hope Zito...a gorgeous English Bulldog. Quickly she made her way into our hearts and has been an incredible addition to our family. The girls enjoyed a fun filled summer with trips to area theme parks, and a trip to Virginia Beach to see our dear friends who love us immensely. With moving to our new house, the girls started a new school and made many new friends. We definitely have been blessed with an incredible year and want to thank everyone who helped make it blissful.

This year we celebrate many upcoming events and wish to share it with all of our extended family, friends and supporters. With my looming graduation pulling near, we can't wait to start the next chapter in our lives. Mia is looking forward to another week at Camp Rising Sun and other fun filled summer activities. I promise, I will take better care of keeping this blog alive. In the meantime, you can find George and I on facebook where I upload pictures regularly... many kisses and manyyyy Hugs...

XOXOXOX

Chrissie

Hello world!!!

I can't believe it's been almost 3 months since my last blog post! So much has been happening with Mia and our family and of course its all GREAT things!! I don't know where to begin because its just been a wirlwind type of time.

March 27th we finally closed on our house. A few weeks later our contracter started to demo the basement. It was completed a few days prior to our housewarming. George, myself and the kids spent almost every evening and weekend getting the house together. April and May we were busy with everything! Between our crazy schedules and having mom hospitalized again was the totally chaotic. Gods good will defintely pulled us through these past few months. May 2nd was the one year mark of Mia's diagnoses, it was quite bitter sweet. Mia was so happy to nearing the end of her treatment, it couldn't come fast enough. With the move, the girls started feel aprehensive about leaving their friends and mostly, Mema and Pop Pop. For Rachy's birthday in June, Mema and I took the two bigger girls to NYC for an overnight stay then a must needed trip to American Girl to get the new doll Rebecca.

On June 19th the girls finished the last day of school at Bungay, and headed off on a road trip with Mema down to Pennsylvania. With no children for a whole weekend, George and I busted our humps and got this move finalized. Now, we are in the new house and things couldn't be better! The girls have been playing with their new (to us) playscape from the minute they wake up until the sun goes down.

June 26th!! The BIG day! It was her last shot of the treatment!!! She wanted to do it early so she could nap before her trip to CoCo Key waterpark with her Daisy Troop. WHAT FUN IT WAS! I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate ending her treatments...whew...what an intense year! Then, Saturday morning we had brunch with Mema and Grampy at IHOP, also to celebrate. Well.....Mema got her girls tickets to see Hannah Montana in November!! How awesome was that?! I can't even explain how excited these girls are!

Today we had our visit with Dr. Joe's team of fabulous players...Mia is scheduled for her testing July 20th, and it was decided that she will keep her port in until next June. Mia will be recieving CT Scans every three months for a year. She will have Dr Joe once a month to flush her "tubies" and she is so ok with all of this. She is happy that her shots are done and life can resume!YAY!

We do have some busy months ahead but I couldn't let another day go by without posting. I am surprised Aunty Terry hasn't harrassed me about it yet! HAHA!

OOOOOHHHHHHH !!!! I know George and I decided to wait a year before getting a pet but one just so happened to cross our path. Ok, Ok so I went out of my way to find this wonderful new family member. IT'S A GIRL!!!! poor George! But we will be picking up our puppy from a wonderful family on July 17th! George and I can't wait but the girls have no clue. They have been practicing for "someday" with our stuffed english bulldog from Ikea, his name is Sarge. And its been the cutest thing to witness. I promise to post pictures as soon as I can! For now enjoy the ones I have just uploaded from the past 3 months LOL!

OXOXOXOXOX

Chrissie

Ashley, Emma and Mia chillaxin while the grownups played landscapers =)

We visited Monika, Kyle and Kurt in Newport the day before the left for the western part of the country! We walked cliff walk and had lunch at the middletown Chili'sAshley and Mia on the cliff walkDezzy and Mia enjoy pizza after their red white and blue graduation programMia and Rachy played while waiting for American girl to open for the big release! The girls with their American Girls! Mia, Quinn (I believe), Rebbecca and SammanthLook who we ran into at Toys R Us Times Square! Miss Tonya!

Mia at the housewarming party sporting the latest in choco-attireSwimming away on her fabulous road trip

The awesome night at CoCo Key!
Mema, grampy and their girl at our celebration breakfast at IHOP!

Happy Birthday Beaner!!!!

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy to you dear beaner, happy birthday to you! 6 long years ago was the most intense time of my life. George was away in Iraq, his unit had just reached the outskirts of Baghdad. With a full blown war in gear, I thought I would never see my husband again. Fearful of giving birth alone, my mother and friend Kerry were there to hold my hand. Still scared beyond words, I gave birth to one of the most amazing things in the world! Mia was bright eyed and ready to take on the world. Her adaption to our feelings didn't take long though. She cried as much as I did, she really must have felt all of my apprehensions. I look at Bean, all that her and I have been through together since the beginning, and think how we were meant for each other. We laid in bed at the hotel last night and she said "Mommy, I love you." I turned to her, held her hand and said "Bean, your my soul mate." and she said straight faced " Is that like first mate" This further proven she is my child! Mia has had the most elaborate birthday weeks ever. The partying started Thursday at Miss Tonya's and will end tonight with an Easter egg hunt. She definitely enjoyed her weekend with all her friends and family! I don't know how we can top this week but we will have to plan ultra hard to make it super duper special next year!

P.S. June 12th is around the corner! When we have a date set for port removal, I will start planing the end of treatment party!

Beaner enjoyed a birthday dinner at Chili's in Shelton. Raquel even gave her a virgin Tropical Sunrise Margarita. Mia too felt the fever for Margarita Madness.

Mia enjoyed a nice swim at the hotel! So much for the princess hair. Fear not, mommy brought a curling iron and hair spray!

Pink is the coolest!

No need to adjust your monitors, you are seeing this correct. Beaner has taken a turn for the punk rock look. I couldn't honestly justify why she couldn't dye her hair pink so we did a preview day. I purchased the pink in a can and went to town. I was tempted to turn the can on myself in a cry of desperation to live those younger years again. When I was young, my mom wouldn't let me do it and I was devastated. We have learned over the past almost year to live life like it was your last day on earth. Beaner has been through so much and how could I say no to that kiss-tastic face? So we go Saturday to the Academy to see Matt to have the semi perm highlights put in. The past month has tested my patience as a student, employee, mom and wife. I have loaded up in classes to make sure I get things done before my graduation in May of 2010. It has me running circles around myself like I am a dog trying to catch it's own tail. I transferred to a Chili's in East Haven in January so my commute has been extended to almost 45 minutes and we are buying a house! Yes! A house! A real, big, gorgeous house! All of the girls are super excited and just dying to get in and start painting their rooms. I kid you not, all these girls have talked about is what room will be theirs, what colors will be painted and what themes. In the meantime George and I are freaking out about how it will all come together. We have nothing folks! When we moved back in with mom 3 years ago, we had paid for Storage. Once that proven too costly we basically got rid of everything. Now we are looking back and saying "Why?" We have already purchased Mia and Ashleys bunkbeds and we have aquired some other things as well. Since we aren't moving until June, we will have plenty of time to adapt to everything and get most of the nessessities.

Isn't it amazing!?

June will be a super fabulous month for us and hopefully we can all share a wonderful month together. Mia should be done with treatment June 12th 2009 so keep your eyes peeled for party invites! That way everyone could come enjoy the new house with us!

Enjoy everyday you have and count your blessings!

Chrissie

Where did the time go?

I feel like it's been forever since I last posted. The holidays really took over our lives this year. I have always said that I thrive on chaos and that was most evident this past month than any other before. There hasn't been much to report since things have been so quite on this end. George and I have started the purchase of a home and we are super excited to say the least. Hopefully we should know by the end of the month if all is good. This part of the process is truly nerve racking and awesome at the same time. Things with Beaner are really well, she goes for another CT scan this week just to check on the progress. She has been really enjoying her appointments because we now get to see Haley. I am guilty of letting her skip school to have tuesday playdates with her good friend. We only have 2 weeks before I go back to school and our schedules will return to normal. Christmas was fabulous for all of us this season, it was a true celebration of family. We visited our cousins in New York for Christmas eve, and drove around visiting all of our family on Christmas day. New Years eve I had to work so George had a good time with the girls. I was out of work fairly early but the girls and George didn't make it to see the ball drop. These next few months we will be super busy if all goes well with the purchase of our new home but we can hardly contain our excitement. The girls have already picked out paint and room decorations for a house that will sure to be our home for years to come. Best wishes to all for a fabulous new year!

xoxoxox

Chrissie

P.S. Mia has reached her half way point for treatment. June 12th looks like her last treatment!

The Dynamic Duo at it again

Well Helllllllo there! Long time no post. Well I have nothing but good news to report and I am so excited to share all that happenings going on in the Zito household. I just don't know where to start because like usual, it has been crazy hectic lately but little by little things come together throughout the chaos. Mia asked that we move her appointment day so she can see Haley. I hadn't realized how long it has been since we saw her. Well, after talking with Haley's mom we were able to set up a checkup playdate! Armed with every camera possible within reach we headed out (extremely late I must add) to Dr. Joe's! I didn't see Vicky's truck so I assumed they rescheduled. Ready for the disappointment we checked in and noticed HALEY'S name on the check in sheet. Oh how excited beaner was to see her friend. She darted down the hall way to get her finger prick so she can be with Haley. Once done, she joined Haley in her check up room. Though she has lost weight again, she was all smiles!! So was I! MJ came to see what all the ruckus was and of course it was the two crazy girls acting like, well, kids. Both girls had fabulous counts and we were off to celebrate. The girls wanted to play at one of the local indoor playgrounds but they were closed so we chose to have lunch at Chili's. After a wonderful lunch we parted ways with Haley and her mom and made plans for next Tuesday. Mrs Mays if you are reading this, Mia will not be in school on Tuesday (wink wink). Luckily we were able to get the same appoinments again so they will be able to see each other. They played like no time has past and it was a true blessing to see Haley doing so well. Her hair is growing back and the smile was just heart warming. These two will have a true friendship that will last forever.

On Location Hair Salon in Oxford held a cut-a-thon in honor of Mia and was overwhelmed by the turnout. Unfortunately Mia didn't make it because she had spiked a fever. I need to thank Michelle and her partners for their generosity. It is an amazing thing they have done, as well as the entire community. We still ask for prayers because one can never get enough of those. Hopefully I can post again soon!

My girls walked the red carpet

Walking through the doors of Oxford Academy Thursday afternoon, the feeling of warmth and caring made a quick appearance as the students got their first glimpse of Mia. Everyone basically stopped what they were doing and just embraced my little girls cuteness. She was playful and charming, something that radiates off her constantly. Rachel was all sorts of excited to see everyone and also ready to have her hair cut. She wanted a grown up cut while Beaner wanted a slight clean up of her already short style. They both knew that the upcoming days would be more exciting than this. Poor Beaner was so tired that she fell asleep while her hair was being dried. I think that was the cutest thing ever, I have never seen her that tired before. When we left the girls were so happy with the new styles that they had to get home to see MeMa and show her how awesome they looked.

Sunday quickly approached and the excitement grew; so much so that nap time was almost non-existent. All the planning would come together to make a fabulous event. We quickly had a bite to eat and headed off the academy to have the girls hair and make-up done. Much to my surprise I was included in the awesome makeovers. With all the chaos within the school and salon, it was remarkably calm and without incident. At 6PM we dashed home to get dressed and head over to the Strand. Mia was starting to turn all sorts of shades with brewing excitement. As we walked in, all the students were just in awe with Mia. A true princess with her gown, tiara and head full of curls; My Mia was the star of the show!

We quickly found the row that Miss Kell reserved for our family and got ready to enjoy a fabulous evening. Mia's bestest friend Abby came and sat with her while watching the movie that one of Oxford Academys' students had created. Almost immediately George and I were brought to tears, and I honestly think there wasn't a dry eye to be had. It wasn't sad tears, they were tears of celebration and courage that poured down. Anna, Mia's half sister really didn't understand what she was going through until that evening. I think it made our family and friends understand that Mia is a brave girl and she is such a strong soul. After the touching video, the upbeat music pounded as gorgeous models made their way down the isles of the strand. It was so amazing to see all that have volunteered their time to make this such a elaborate event.

I need to say thank you too all who donated to make sure my Mia will be able to enjoy every aspect of her life. I need to say thank you to:

Kellie Steeves
The staff and Students at Oxford Academy of Hair Design
Val McCormick Photography
Louis Vayas
David and April Sciaraffa
Carousel Gardens
Santa Clause
My friends from Chili's Grill and Bar for Modeling
All who attended
All that had donated

Thank You!!

I can't say this enough, but it's overwhelming to see the amount of support our little community has shown for our daughter. It brings a new sense of warmth and compassion. I never once in my dreams would have thought so many would chose to take our family under their wing and remind us of how special life could really be. We are so very humbled of all that has happened in the past 6 months and very grateful to boot.

Val McCormick has the pictures on her site that you can order. Go to http://www.valmccormick.com/
(select webite, then online ordering, then events)