I chose to be a Parent

Today I posted my status on Facebook as this: "There was a point in time in my life where I swore I NEVER wanted to be a parent. Going through pregnancy and childbirth, plus the cost and hassle of raising a child, that wasn't for me. It was something I never wanted to do, and was pretty sure I was going to stick with that choice. The older I got the more those reasons for not having children seemed less important, and I slowly became more and more envious of friends and strangers with their children and babies. Although it was a surprise when I finally did become pregnant, I CHOSE to become a parent. In all honesty it is by far the best thing I have ever done. I have always been a giving person, and giving my all to this little guy has been some of the best memories of my life, and I can't wait to make more."

This is the truth. During my pregnancy I had a lot of doubts and fears about becoming a parent. There is so much I want to do and give to my son, he is such a amazing person already. Every time I look into his eyes I swear I see so much. He is full of joy and amazement, and that just touches me deep in my soul. I felt a connection with my son from the first time I got to hear his heartbeat. That was the moment it became real to me. The first moment I realized I was going to become a mom. I didn't always want to be a mom and from time to time those old fears came back to haunt me. Would I lose who I am because now I am MOM? Would I have any time for me or the things I enjoy? Would we be able to afford anything nice anymore? It is crazy because so little and so much has changed. Did I lose who I was? Nope. I gained to who I was. I am so much more now, and my favorite title is Mommy. Do I have time for me? Yep. I have the most wonderful son who is easy going, and gives me time to shower, play on the computer, get chores done, and relax. Plus my son has a pretty amazing Daddy too, who helps so much. Did this baby suck up all our money? Not even. I took up couponing, so his basic needs like diapers and wipes are met cheaply. I bought his clothes and lot of his toys used, so tons of money was saved there. Our biggest expense is all the money we plan to spend on Christmas, but we want to spend that. So has anything changed? We eat out a little less, we go to bed a little earlier, and we smile and laugh a lot more.

Did I make the right choice? Heck yeah. This is the best thing I have ever made, and I wouldn't change a thing about him.

Dogs and Kids

Before ever having a baby we had dogs. I have probably had dogs my entire life. Right now we have three wonderful little dogs that complete our family. Our oldest is Coco, she is 6 years old, and a chihuahua. The second is Cami, she is roughly 4 years old, and is a chihuahua. Then there is her son Furby and is only a year old, and he is also a chihuahua. We did have Quin a 4 year old Chihuahua for a while, but I sent him home with a friend. In our house the dogs are our other children and are included in a lot of things we do together. Our dog Furby has really bonded with our 4 month old son and constantly is checking on him to see if he is okay. I think animals look out for us like we do them. Here is a story of how a dog alerted parents of the babysitter abusing their baby. 

The pitbull was also known as the nanny dog, and was well trusted with children for supervision. You can read more about that here. I think dogs really can understand our wants and needs, and can know when we are in danger. I think they make amazing therapy dogs.

Coco has been in my life for many years, and has helped me with my anxiety and depression and helped keep me positive. How can you not smile when every time you walk in the door a small dog is over joyed to see you!

I really hope my son can enjoy this same bond with our animals. Also I think being around smaller creatures helps him to learn empathy for them, and then as he gets older he will learn to help with them as well. We all help take care of each other.

Furby has always been Justins dog, but since Aries has come along he has really bonded with him and worries about him a lot. I read here that they tend to bond to one person. Cami and Coco are really mine, and Cami likes to cuddle with Jeremy pretty often. Then Furby is Justins baby. Justin walks him and spoils him a lot.

With Aries being so much like Justin, I guess it only make since he watches over his favorite mini human. 

Happy Halloween!

This year was a extra special Halloween since it was Aries first Halloween! I love my little guy and made sure we went out of our way to do some super fun stuff. We got candy and spent time together as a family. This year Aries ended up going as two different things. Our first trip out we went to the mall to trick or treat and it was super warm. So he went in his skeleton jammies for the mall and when we went around the neighborhood we dressed him up in his dragon costume.

I dressed up as the Tardis from Doctor Who. I posted each as a link so if you don't know who they are. Take the time to look it up, because it is the most awesome show ever.

Justin went as a demon and was super cool. Aries thought his mask was funny.

In the end we had a pretty good time and got us all some yummy candy! Next year is going to be twice as fun!