It's hard to keep track of birthdays, anniversaries so many other days but for some reason Grandparent's Day stood out to me this year.  We are blessed that Hannah and Savannah have Grandparent's who adore and love them so completely, between David's parents, my mom who is down a lot to see us as well as my dad and step-mom who we actually just saw today!

My dad with Savannah

I'm also reminded today about the Grandparent's that David and I have lost. Last year we both lost our last living Grandparent, David's Granny passed away on November 1st and my Grammie (my mom's mom) passed away on Christmas morning.  Since both leaving us so suddenly it's been very important to us to have the girls with their Grandparent's as much as possible.

My mom with both girls this summer

I know it's not "cool" to hang out with your Grandparent's but I want the girls to know that they are so loved that it shouldn't matter if it's cool or not and to really take the time to appreciate these amazing people who give so much of themselves for them.

A family shot before she passed with David's Granny and David's parents

So if you are lucky enough to still have a Grandparent with you today, take some time, give them a call or stop in to see them...they should know not just today but everyday how much you love and appreciate all that they have done for you.

When we found out that we were expecting Hannah, one of the first things we did was look for a dog.  I remember thinking "if we can't raise a dog together, we can't raise a baby"...David and I both agreed that we loved Pit Bulls and that's the dog that we wanted.  One day randomly I emailed about 20 people from Craigslist with puppies, the first lady to respond lived in WV and had a quote "rescue", the picture of the puppy she sent us wasn't exactly the best but we took a leap of faith and road out to view the pups.  Almost instantly David knew that he wanted the pup that is now our Whiskey girl!  She's still the best $45 either one of us has probably ever spent.

Fast forward about 2 years and we find out we're expecting Savannah, again why not have 2 dogs for 2 kids?  David desperately needed another male type animal in the house and I can't blame him, he was surrounded by females both human and animal (5 if you count my old Pomeranian who now resides with my mom).  This time we went through a rescue called Bully Paws Rescue and we found our baby blue boy Titan!  In fact it was amazing the reaction from our home visit volunteer for Bully Paws "we are so thrilled that you all are adding a Pit Bull while expecting another baby, you all are setting the perfect example of a loving and caring family for both your girls and Pit Bulls!"...I was really touched that someone said that.


A lot of people gave us issues when we got Whiskey before Hannah came, statements like "pits and babies don't mix" or "aren't you worried for your child's safety"...ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS I thought!  Over the 3 years that we've had Whiskey and now 1 year with Titan I trust these dogs with my girls more than I do most humans!  No one takes into consideration that both of these dogs have been raised with our girls from birth, they are loyal and sweet, caring and compassionate and so patient with our kids it's almost unbelievable.

Did you know that Pit Bulls were actually bred to be one of the most obedient and loyal breeds out there?  Back in the older years (my husband could probably tell you exactly when) bull fighters used to use Bull Dogs in sport to pin down large bulls in the ring but over time the trainers noticed that the Bull Dogs were turning on them.  They decided to breed the Bull Dog with the traditional family pet the Terrier.  Once they did this they had the "Pit Bull" this breed never turned on their owner becoming essential in the sport.


Next you had the Europeans who brought the Pit Bull over with him becoming the first real cowboys in our society, the dogs provided not just companionship but safety and protection.  Over time cowboys created the best breed, they didn't have time if a dog turned on them, immediately it would be put down, essentially only the best of the breed survived.  As the dogs got older the cowboys would leave the dogs with their wives and children when they went on long distance trips.  This is how Pit Bulls became the "Nanny Dog"!  The wives and mothers were in charge of so many other activities around the house that they would leave the children with the Pit Bulls to watch them as guardians.  This baby-sitting could last 5 minutes to several hours and no one blinked twice, children in fact were safer because the dogs could protect and guide the children and even were play toys for their miniature owners.  They also were not owned by the lower class as history might suggest, in fact they were owned by many more of the middle to upper class families of our time.


Now whenever some says to me that I'm crazy for owning two Pits with my two girls in the house I tell them "how many times has your Chihuahua bit your kid" or "how many times has your cat scratched your kid"...dumb breeds dumb.  The simple fact is that what I call "My Breed" the Pit Bull is widely misunderstood.  Yes, there are bad dogs out there but there's bad dogs in every breed not just Pits.  I take huge offense to anyone who bashes or talks down about my dogs because my dogs are to me just as much as my children part of our family.  They are the best dogs I've ever owned and I wouldn't trade them for any other breed.  Does no one remember "Petey" from Little Rascals? Yeah folks, that was a PIT BULL!


Each family needs to do their own research on what breed will work best for them and their children, Pit Bulls just happen to be the best damn breed for me and my family!  I will close this off by saying I won't bully you or your dog, whatever breed that might be if you don't bully my breed...educate yourself, investigate what you are talking about and learn the history of an animal before you banish it because of ignorance. 

Wow, that's quite a thought to wrap my brain around.  I know I'm a good mom and I know I have an idea of who I want the girls to be as they grow up but my goals to get them there, hadn't really processed that...doesn't it just happen?  Obviously not.

Actually, today on our way home from an overnight trip I was telling my husband "I always want our girls to know their self-worth".  They get told by me, their dad, their grandparents and even the occasional Home Depot employee "you are so gorgeous" or "you are so pretty" and truth be told, they are!  My kids are probably some of the most beautiful girls I've laid my eyes on but I don't want them to believe their self-worth is based only on their looks that's why I also try to tell them all the time "you're so smart" or "that's brilliant, you're a genius!".  I want them to know that their insides, their integrity and smarts make them just as beautiful as their physical appearances do.

I also want my girls to know that a man doesn't make you.  Don't get me wrong, I love my husband and as a SAHM and wife I appreciate that every morning he puts both feet on the floor and makes a promise to do everything in his power to provide for us and keep our lifestyle one that we are now accustom to.  But before my husband I was in a heavily dependent relationship (amongst other things, but that's for another time) and I needed that person to give me what I needed to feel whole in several categories (money, affection, emotions, etc.).  It wasn't until I left that relationship that I learned I'm in control of my own happiness and being alone doesn't make me less of a person.  It also made me appreciate this amazing man who would probably go to the ends of the earth for me on any given Sunday.  In attachment to that, I want my girls to look at our marriage and know that's what they deserve, a man that showers you with affection, compliments you and makes you his whole world.  They are more deserving of that than any man who puts them down, degrades or belittles them into thinking they are less amazing than they truly are.

Recently, we also starting giving Hannah left over change and have her take it over to her piggy bank and put it in.  We applaud her and tell her she's going to be a great saver!  I grew up in a upper-middle class family in basic Suburbia so the value of money never really hit me until a couple years ago when we had a mortgage, car payments and kids to pay for.   I want both my girls to know that money is worth something and it's definitely worth how much work you put into it.  I hope to take Hannah (and Savannah when she's old enough) once a month to the bank, hand over that piggy bank and watch them smile as they see the bank tellers make a big deal about them adding money to their savings accounts.  Also, as they get older if there's a special treat they want they can also learn to save for it and earn it.  Having things to call your own that no one can take from you is a very rewarding feeling and I want them to have that experience.

I'm sure now that I think about it that I have a ton of goals for my girls as a mom, I want them to know healthy competition and that it's okay to win or lose, I want them to know outdoor activities and that life doesn't begin and end with a TV show and so much more but I think I touched on my Top 3 Goals.

What are your goals for your kids?  What lessons do you want them to learn as they grow up and become the amazing adults we are creating?

Most of you probably don't know that David and I got married in Vegas, yes, we eloped but our wedding was just what we wanted, with people we love around us (our families were even able to watch over a live internet feed so they were there in spirit)...I was dusting in our bedroom and like always I have to move a ton of our wedding memorabilia but for some reason today I really looked at these items and realized how important they were in our wedding day and how perfect they are to how we got married.


First there's my bouquet, it was white roses.  I'm not really a fan of roses, I think they are generic and easy to get (I mean 7-11 has roses) but these roses are probably the most beautiful I've seen, there was exactly 12 of them which was perfect because David and I met on July 12th.  I don't think I would have felt like a bride in Vegas without this bouquet, but what I've never told anyone is that I broke 1/2 the stems walking down the aisle with how hard I was squeezing it.  I was cool calm and collected that whole day but that moment I walked down the aisle I could barely keep my knees from collapsing I was so in love.  They are obviously dried out now but just having them in our room helps me remember that day and I love that they dried so perfectly...not a single petal fell off, still intact.


One of the next items we have from that day still makes me laugh...it's the champagne flute that we took our first drink as husband and wife, now I'm sure you ask, why is that funny?  It's funny because David had never had champagne before, so instead of sipping it, he took it like a shot...that's my classy man right there!  The whole room, reverend and all burst into laughter, every time I see these flutes I think of that moment.


The final wedding favor we have is probably my favorite, after our wedding we had a dinner at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab inside Cesar's Palace.  We ordered a very nice bottle of wine and all of our guests, David's brother (best man), my best friend Dawn (Maid of Honor) and our 4 cousins signed the cork for us.  We really love this piece of memorabilia because again when we see it we remember that amazing meal surrounded by people who love us and support our relationship and marriage so much.


I really love having these pieces to look back on and remember what was one of the most important and memorable days of my life!  What are some of your wedding items that you kept that are special to you?

Growing up I didn't have a dog and to be honest I think I missed out on a lot, the responsibility, the bond that animals provide and the joy they can bring to a child's life, that's why it was essential to me that we have dogs in our household for our girls.  Everyone told us we were crazy when we found out that we were having Hannah to be getting a dog, a Pit Bull furthermore but David and I were under the mentality of "if we can't care for a puppy together, how can we raise a kid together?", so we started our search to find a new puppy.

I honestly just remember being at work and responding to craigslist ads for pit puppies, ranging from VA to WV to MD.  The first one to respond was this lady who said she was affiliated with a rescue but they were moving and couldn't bring their dogs (should have been flag #1) and she had some pit/rottweiler mix pups that were 8 weeks old.  When David got home that night I showed him the photos she had sent me, it was like 5 PM and we jumped in the car thinking "if we don't like the puppy we don't have to get it"...how spontaneous of us right? :)

The probably hour and a half drive we arrived at the house, it was totally sketchy (flag #2) but we went on in.  There were 2 baby girl pups and 1 boy, the boy had a hip issue so they couldn't adopt him out plus we knew we wanted a girl most likely, plus the pups were more like 5 weeks than 8 (flag #3).  David knew Whiskey the moment he saw her, I probably asked him a dozen times before I signed the adoption papers, "are you sure that's the one?", he always responded with "yes".  We scooped her up, paid a whopping $45, signed the papers and headed to PetsMart for a crate, food, leash...you know all the goodies. 

This is our little (well not so little now) Whiskey River the night we got her...she was so sad and scared and just needed so much love...
Lots of love and affection brought this baby girl to life...this is Whiskey around 6 months, she just melted my heart with her face...
Now, I couldn't imagine a better choice for a dog, we love Whiskey, she's only ever been away from us when we delivered the girls in the hospital.  She loves our babies and is so patient and caring with them (she's got a face licking fetish that I try to keep in check) and our girls love them...here's a picture of Whiskey with Hannah probably around Hannah being 10 or 11 months...



When we knew we were having baby #2 (now Savannah) we knew it was essential to get Whiskey a partner of her own.  David didn't need another girl in the house so we looked into a boy this time and we found him through Bully Paws Rescue located out of the Fredericksburg area, his mom had been a seized dog when the police arrested the owner on a drug raid, she had been mistreated and bred several times over.  Thankfully this great organization took them in and raised her and her pups.

Titan and I met while David and I were actually looking at getting his brother Cowboy.  When I picked Cowboy up he was all wiggly and wouldn't love on me so I gave Titan a shot, and boy let me tell you, that dog chose me...as soon as I had him in my arms he laid his head on my shoulder and just sighed like "ahhhh, this is home"...he's had my heart ever since.  He's a beautiful blue color with stunning eyes that are a yellow green, every time I have him with me I get nothing but compliment after compliment on how gorgeous he is.

Here's Titan as a pup and Titan on the day he and Whiskey first met...


Titan is now Whiskey's partner in crime, they love each other and most days I can't figure out if their relationship is more of a "mother/son" or "boyfriend/girlfriend" but they are happy and that's all that matters.  Titan also loves our girls and he really is a great fit into our family, we love him, we love them.  Our dogs are our family, they are an extension of us and I'm so grateful that these 2 amazing dogs get to be best friends to my little girls and teach them to love and to cuddle with them at night and lick every tear they shed.