Kelly Mulder | Cuddlebugs

Cassy Fiano

Hi everyone! My name is Cassy Fiano. I was born in Jacksonville, Florida. My husband and I met when we were twelve, at a birthday party where he fell on the pool deck and broke one of his front teeth. I worked in several different fields until I got married. My husband and I knew that we wanted to have a family and that when we did, I would be a stay-at-home mommy. Last July, we found out I was pregnant, and on the day of my first doctor’s appointment, he deployed to Afghanistan. Unfortunately, during my pregnancy, I ended up with preeclampsia. Luckily, my husband returned the morning of my scheduled induction, so the day he came home from Afghanistan was the day we went to the hospital. 16 hours and a c-section later, we had our beautiful little boy, Benjamin. Being a parent has changed my life. I’ve learned to be more patient; that it’s possible to operate on two hours of sleep, and I’ve also learned that I never really knew what stress was until I experienced a baby crying inconsolably for four hours straight. I’ve learned that looking at my son sleeping in my arms can move me to tears, that I never really loved anyone the way I love my him, and that all of the hard times can be completely wiped away with one little smile. The last four months have been an incredible journey, and I can’t wait to share the rest of it with you!

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Hello Everyone! Let me introduce myself by telling you all a little bit about me. In 2008 I married Garrett, the love of my life. He is a Marine and of course I followed him here to Jacksonville, NC. I have a graduate degree I don’t use and instead I’m the happiest stay at home Mom ever to our daughter, Nora, who is almost two years-old. Garrett recently got home from his second deployment and surprise, surprise! (okay, not really) I’m pregnant! Garrett and I are happily expecting our second child on or around October 1st. We’re hoping this is the second of six pregnancies for us. Yes, you read me correctly. We want a BIG family! I hope you enjoy reading about my experiences as a mom!

PCSing Overseas, Part 1

May 10th, 2011 Kelly Mulder

Nora after 75% of our stuff went to Storage

Have you ever PCSed (i.e. moved) overseas with the military? Moving overseas is a lot more difficult than moving state to state. When you move state to state …
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Nora’s Second Birthday Party

May 6th, 2011 Kelly Mulder

Nora enjoying her "jumping castle"

Does your family have birthday rules? My family growing up did. We could only invite as many people as the age we were turning. When we turned five we could invite five …
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Anxiety in Children

May 4th, 2011 Kelly Mulder

Contrary to popular belief Nora isn't always this calm, cool and collected

Recently Nora started showing signs of anxiety –particularly at night. She would cling to me as I tried to put her down. She would cry …
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Children are Amazing

April 28th, 2011 Kelly Mulder

Nora with Grammie's glasses

I loved my daughter before she was born and I knew I would love her even more once she joined me in this world. I could feel it in every bone of my …
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Babies and Sunburn

April 25th, 2011 Kelly Mulder

Nora's sunburn

I grew up in a home that was obsessed with sunscreen. My mom spent her entire life as a Marine brat out on the beaches or playing outside. She says she almost never wore sunscreen and …
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Yard Sale Musts

April 22nd, 2011 Kelly Mulder

Nora hanging out with my Mom
Garrett and I are getting ready for big changes. We’re moving our family to Okinawa, Japan. The Marine Corps is only allowing us to bring 25% of our weight allowance, the …
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