On my mind...

It's been over 4 months since I lost my sweet old man Ali and it still hurts =(  I still cry seeing pic's of him and wish so bad that he was still here enjoying life with us.  He was the perfect example of how sweet pitbulls can be and I'm so happy he was mine.  I sure do miss this sweet doggy though...

Chewing sticks - his FAVORITE thing to do!  He managed to get out and chew one in our backyard just 2 days before he passed =( 

He loved car rides with me.  He usually didn't have his head out the window though - he was usually curled up on the front seat sleeping while I rubbed his head.

This guy never knew a dog bed, to him - this was a "dogs bed"

I swear, he had such expressions!!  You could read his emotions all over his face - he smiled, looked sad, looked bored, excited, worried, confused...I miss those faces! 

Big yawns!  Always loved this pic of him =))

Random pics of the week...

Not much has gone on with us this week - the weather has been hot & wildfires are burning so we've pretty much been cooped up in the house!  Here are some random pic's from this past week though!

Our little man (still nameless) is getting bigger, and so am I!

 This handsome dude has been enjoying baths in Mommy & Daddy's big tub all this week!

 An awesome necklace I found at a local boutique here in NC!

 My pretty pups are getting so BIG!!

 Our nightly routine of falling asleep..I'm usually there too..I just get up to take pic's - and to get us all into our beds!

It's SUMMER!!  We've already decided that we need to save this year to have a pool by next summer!  NC summers are just tooooo hot!

Stay at home Mommy!

Before I met my Husband, I was very independent.  I was working a full-time job, most of the time a part-time job as well, I was taking a college class or two on top of that and I was living on my own, in a tiny little studio apartment with my sweet pitbull (RIP my Ali) and paying my own bills.  At times I felt completely overwhelmed and scared!  It felt great though.  I moved out at 18 and was holding my own!  I also remember thinking "when I have kids one day, I'm going to be a working Mom because staying at home all day with kids would drive me nuts".  I can't believe I once thought that!!!  Everything changed when I had my son.  Of course, there are still moments where he really does drive me nuts BUT I'd rather him drive me nuts than have him drive someone else nuts..I want to enjoy every single moment with him while I can.  Before I know it, my little man is going to in school, independent in too many ways and I'm gonna look back and miss these days home with him.  I truly enjoy being home with him.  I love that he wakes up when he wants every morning.  He see's my face every morning, we eat breakfast together and I watch him learn, play, pretend and turn into a little man that I'll be sending to Kindergarten in just 2 years =( 

One of the many things I enjoy of being at home with him is the simple joy of feeding my son a good breakfast everyday and being able to sit and eat with him.  It makes me happy when I know his little tummy is filled with good, healthy food and he is starting his day off right.  When I was a kid my Mom always got up with me in the morning and made me good breakfasts while I was getting ready.  I always loved that and I'll be happy to do that when my kids are in school one day. 

I feel so blessed to have a wonderful Husband who works so hard to provide for our family so I'm able to stay home with our kids.  This time goes by all to quickly and I'm fortunate to be able to not miss a minute of it.  I still want to go to school to finish a degree and have a career one day, but for now this is where my heart is. This is what life is about to me and school and a career is secondary.  I'll always have a chance to go back to school...I'll never have the chance to make my kids little again and stay home with them!

Help!

I'm obviously not a great blogger and I usually have no clue what I'm doing on here! Can someone please tell me why I can't post comments on posts (including my own!)?? I chose the option of an open URL but it says my account isn't verified and it'll have me sign in a gazillion times over and over when I choose my Google Account! Please help!!!

Baby #2 is a BOY

This whole pregnancy I've had the STRONGEST feeling we were going to have a GIRL! I had dreams about it, I thought about it all of the time & I certainly didn't waste any of my time looking at BOY stuff! Boy, did I set myself up! A week & 1 day ago we found out we'll be parents to TWO little boys! As bad as this may sound I was a little disappointed "he" wasn't a "she" BUT seriously, how can I have an ounce of disappoinment in me when I'm going to have another sweet little man?? I love my little Dennis to death and I couldn't be happier! I can't wait to give my little man a little brother...his future best friend for life. When I explained to him that the baby was a boy and he'd have a little brother to play trucks with, ride bikes with & to become best friends with, his little face lit up with excitement as he squeled "Yaaaaay". I love this little guy & I can not wait to meet his little brother =))

It's a boy (a boy without a name for now!)

I'm gonna have TWO of these??? I'm a blessed Mommy!

Dennis having a "picnic"

Playing catch-up...again!

Everything has been wonderful lately! Dennis is in his "off cycle" at work which means instead of working his normal 100 hour weeks he's only working til about 1 or 2 everyday. I loooove his off time. My hubby and I are so close and really enjoy our family time...we always hate time apart. I don't know how we ever survived 3 deployments!

We had a little Memorial Day BBQ at our house with a few other neighbors/friends. We wrapped up that night watching our friends 1 yr old while they went to an evening wedding. He was a sweetie and lil man enjoyed the company of another kid! I think he's gonna be a GREAT big brother in a few months! We also watched a special on one of the local channels for Memorial Day. Shew! Talk about a cry fest! It really touched our hearts to hear so many stories of fallen heroes and the families that were left behind. It hits close to home for sure. Dennis had a very difficult deployment this last year. He was a "Marjah Marine". His battalion was part of a "team" that invaded the town of Marjah that was known to have tons of Insurgents. They knew the Marines were coming and they had time to prepare. He was in constant fire fights, his platoon his numerous IED's, some guys were KIA and many, many were injured. My Husband was amoung the injured but he made it home safely. For that we are very grateful. It saddens my heart to think about the lives lost. I know some may never get the true meaning of Memorial Day...and they probably never will. It's ashame, it really is. I know our children will always know what we're celebrating on that day though. We're not only taking time to remember those who lost their lives, but we'll remember those who were wounded, those who played their part in keeping this great countrys freedom and those who are still serving!

[Iraq homecoming, 2007!]

[Iraq homecoming 2008, meeting our son for the 1st time!]

[Afghanistan homecoming, 2011!!]

The day after Memorial Day we beahced it up with some friends for about 6 hours...and we PAID for that! I used SPF 70 and still managed to fry my thighs to a crisp! My face and chest burned a little too. My poor hubby didn't use anything and man oh man! He looks like a lobster! the part that burned the worst is the tops of his feet. They're almost purple! Not good when you have to wear military boots to work =( Little man was okay of course. He had on his little water shirt, a hat and the same spf 70 as me. That night we went to dinner with the same friends and just overall had a great day, despite buring so badly! [Dennis wanted to hold our hands for this picture! He's so darn CUTE!!]









We managed to get to a minor leage baseball game the next night and had an awesome time! My Husband loves sports and it makes him so happy to share his love of sports with his son. Little man enjoys it just as much. He loves when his Daddy plays sports with him, takes him to games and even just watches them on TV with him. A nice lady that got a ball used in the game gave it to him and that made his night. He even got 2 players to sign it for him! I couldn't have thought of a better way to wrap up a nice long weekend with my guys...sitting front row at a bball game, eating peanuts and icecream and seeing that faces of my guys just light up while watching the game =) Those two are my heart and I sure do looove my time with them!!







I'm now just over 19 wks pregnant! We find out in 6 days what we're having and I can NOT WAIT!!! I'm beyond excited to know what I have in my belly. Of course, we're hoping for a GIRL! I've had 3 dreams its a girl and 3 friends who have dreamed I'm having a girl! Either that's a sign OR I'm getting set up for MAJOR disappointment, lol. I'm obviously going to be thrilled with either sex but my heart really wants a little girl. Dennis is such a great Dad and he loves to get little Dennis involved in the things he loves...ya know, GUY STUFF. I just want a daughter...a little girl that I can share my girly interests with. I'm sure other girls know exactly how I feel. I'm ready for cute dresses, bows, doll babies and tea parties! I've been starting to feel little movements in my tummy and I'm loving it. I remember exactly how it feels when the baby really starts to grow and kick and move. It's an amazing feeling!

The pups are GREAT! They're such little lovebugs! They're so well behaved for just 5 1/2 months old. They've definitely found a spot in my heart already and I've definitely formed that bond with them. They're already almost 50 lbs and the vet expects them to DOUBLE that size by the time they're ONE! WOW-zers! They're gonna be HUGE!

Coco & Samantha @ 5 months old. Coco is laid back and sweet and Sammy is a little companion...needing constant love and attention! Sweet little girls =)

Baby on board!

So, despite losing my sweet pitbull Ali in February we also had some pretty good news. After trying to have a 2nd baby since Dennis got home from deployment in August, we found out we were expecting! After moping around the house crying for 2 weeks, this was the good news I needed to lift my spirits. This may sound silly to some, but I'm a HUGE dog person. Shoot, sometimes I feel like I can relate to a dog better than humans. They're non-judgemental, lovable, always happy to see you, loyal and pretty much just perfect in every way! They have a way of getting to know you in and out and you learn to have a rountine with them and you love them as if they're family. Ali was my baby for 9 years and I still miss him tremendously =( I'll always miss him. Back to the baby though. I woke up one Saturday morning and laid there in bed thinking of how much I still missed Ali laying next to me under the covers...I counted in my head how many days he had been gone...2 weeks...and then I realized "Hey, I think I'm a few days late!". Dennis and I hadn't been thinking of being pregnant for a while and we certainly weren't thinking of it at that time. So, while my hubby was out of bed already I decided to take a test. Positive popped up right away!!! I went out to show him immediately with my heart pounding out of my chest!!! He was pretty darn SHOCKED and HAPPY!! I'm 11 weeks today and feeling GREAT! Just like with Dennis, I've got no morning sickness and my belly is growing quickly!

Coco & Samantha

We also got 2 new puppies a couple weeks after we lost Ali. I probably wasn't ready for them. It was completely unplanned and we thought with our hearts and not our brains when we came home with 2 pups one Saturday! We got 2 females labs...a chocolate & black lab, they're sisters. We've had them for about a month now I suppose (maybe longer) and they've been great. It was rocky at first with using the bathroom in the house and waking up all night long but they're on track now! Now if we can just keep them from digging through to the neighbors yard everyday to visit with their Golden Retriever puppy! They don't take the place of my Ali...and in my heart I'm still a "Pitbull person" and honestly when someone asks me what kinds of dogs I have I'm probably gonna have to explain that I'm a pitbull person that just happens to have 2 labs...lol. I know I'm going to learn to love these dogs and I'll become attached to them one day too. Dogs have a way of doing that for sure.

Other news...my big boy is gonna be THREE years old in just 3 months. I can't believe it. He's so darn sweet. He talks so much now, sleeps in a toddler bed, eats everything and everything, has great manners and is such a fast learner. I love that little man SO much! Here's a pic of him from today!