Wednesday, May 20, 2015

"We Bought A Zoo"

Pets! In my opinion, they really make a family feel complete. But then, I'm a lover of animals and I have a very difficult time saying no to a fuzzy face. So yes, we are a family with animals. If you follow me on instagram though, you already knew that!
Our first cat together, Keke... she was special...
Even before Josh and I had the kids, we always had animals. There was one point in our relationship (probably even before being engaged) where we had three cats and two dogs. It was a full house.
At that time, having pets was just a way to make our family feel whole. We were definitely "those" people that had as many pictures of our animals as parents have of their kids. Pets are just like people and having them in our life felt right for us.

Since having kids, keeping pets in the family is important to us.

They teach unconditional love.
Admit it, y'all... when you were a kid and you came home from school to see your dog and/or cat so excited to see you, it made your day. Right? Right! Zander gets that with Gambit now. Both kids are learning that even when the animals may not want
forcing their love on the cat but she secretly loves it!
They teach responsibility. 
At two years old Zander started having chores. One of them was to feed the pets. Now, Ainsley feeds the cat and Zander feeds the dog. Chores in general help them learn responsibility, but having to feed the animals and make sure they always have fresh clean water helps them learn to take care of live things.

Endless play!
Are your kids and pets getting antsy? No problem! Send them both in the backyard and boom! They wear themselves out with a quick game of tug-o-war. My kids absolutely love running around the backyard with Gambit. Taking him for a nice long walk around the neighborhood is a close second favorite activity though too. By the end of the day, dog and kids sleep very well.

Similar schedules. 
Potty training, eating, playing... Kids and pets have similar schedules. I think having animals before we had kids was a good idea cause it helped teach Josh and I the importance of sticking to schedules. Sure, going on vacations with pets in the house is tough, but we're lucky we have an amazing system down to where the animals hardly know we're gone!
Rambo didn't know she wasn't toilet trained as a kitten... 
But in all seriousness, who wouldn't want faces like this giving you the "I love you" look daily? Having pets in the family really makes our home feel complete. I wouldn't have it any other way and I couldn't even imagine it any other way.
we are family! 
This is the last week for the Mamas Tell All linkup. These past several weeks have been really amazing and I've absolutely loved getting to know other mamas in the blogging world! In case you've missed the other topics, you can follow along here. Also, do you want more Mamas Tell All? Let me know in the comments!

Do you have pets in your family? What do you love about having pets? If you don't have pets, would you consider adding them to the family (with or without kids! Fur mommies are mommies too!!)
The Rambling Llama
 photo featured sponsor2_zpsov6ixzlo.jpg

 photo TRLSigNov2014_zps7a838dc4.png

32 comments :

  1. This is so. sweet. I love animals too. The girls pretty much are a zoo, and our big guy is almost 10, which is super hard to believe. I am definitely more of a dog person, but my sister works at a veterinary clinic and has "adopted" or "fostered" just about every pet imaginable at some point, so we have met quite a few ;) So much fun!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I want a pet so bad but am too allergic. My doc says I can't have anything with hair! I grew up in a house with a dog, cats, turtles, fish, hamsters, lizards, and a chicken- all at the same time! We were like the stray animal refuge and it was amazing. I've loved the Mamas Tell All series!

    ReplyDelete
  3. My husband and I aren't really pet type people. But I have definitely seen the boys learning a lot from taking care of kittens. The 5 year old feeds them as soon as he wakes up. They are also learning how to treat animals, which is good because their natural tendency is way to rough! They can understand being gentle with a baby, but didn't "get" that they also need to be gentle when touching animals. I think they didn't see a difference between a stuffed animal (which they drop kick around the house) and a live one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Aren't there hypo allergenic dogs though? The problem with those I guess they're too expensive. I prefer to rescue and you're less likely to find a labradoodle in the shelter lol! Josh would be the happiest husband if we had lizards, snakes, etc. I want chickens foot fresh eggs!! Lol we have the coop all set! I also really want a parrot of some kind lol

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lol the girls are a zoo! Haha I laughed at that one! I'm more of a dog person as well but my hubby prefer to have all the reptiles. Lol.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes!!! I forgot to mention the kids are learning how to be gentle! Which is good if we go to a friend I house with pets.... They know not to immediately freak out and jump on the animals! Haha.

    ReplyDelete
  7. For us, pets make our family whole. I can't imagine living life without a dog!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yes yes yes. I grew up with cats, dogs, horses and birds, and I just cannot a life without pets in it. It is sooo strange to me that some people don't have pets. I just could never do that. Since we rent, it is SUPER difficult to find a place in this town to allow all my pets, but we finally did. I'd rather live in a cardboard box with my pets than in an apartment without them.

    ReplyDelete
  9. DITTO!! There was one point in my life when we had two horses... I miss those gals. lol. I REALLY want some birds, but the ones I want are crazy expensive. lol. We rent too, and we got lucky with the house we're in now allowing us to have Gambit. but yeah, like you I'll live in a box before giving up the babies.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Honestly, this is part of the reason I wanted to get a puppy. By the time we have walking/running kids, she'll still be young but be better trained. We are lucky that we have Tinkerbell to help with some of that puppy energy, though.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yes!! Having Rambo before having the kids helped her realize the tiny loud humans weren't going anywhere and she became more tolerant of them. Gambit just kind of merged naturally lol.

    ReplyDelete
  12. My husband and I are like you we have 2 cats and 2 dogs. I just love having animals. They definitely make the house feel whole and definitely feel like home.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yep, so true! Pets are so great for kids to have. And I love that Coco the Pup runs out to greet Claire after school. It's the best! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love your fur babies! I can't wait to have one (or more) of my own! I know they are so great for your children and the fam.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love all your furry friends! I agree! Pets are important. For so many reasons.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Agreed! I seriously can't see my life without them

    ReplyDelete
  17. I can't wait to see what y'all get eventually! Lol :) they're really amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Isn't that so sweet? Both animals here actually greeted Zander after school. Now they're thrilled everyone is home during the day lol

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love having them in the house. And my kitty baby keeps my feet warm at night lol.

    ReplyDelete
  20. SUCH cute pictures....I had off the wall pets growing up because my mom was allergic to cats and some dog hair. I had hermit crabs, gerbils, bunnies...it was a lot of fun!

    ReplyDelete
  21. awww. I love our furry friends! They really are family!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Furbabies are a must! Pets are so very important! I've had a dog since I was a little, and I can't imagine my life without one!

    ReplyDelete
  23. absolutely! I cannot imagine a life without animals in it.

    ReplyDelete
  24. YES!! soo glad we had pets before kids. I feel like they really train you. like when oooj insisted he needed a bath... totally toddler behavior. haha

    ReplyDelete
  25. omg that's so awesome. I want a bunny so bad. we had hamsters growing up and we laughed way too hard when they pooped in the ball

    ReplyDelete
  26. My life would feel so empty without my fur babies!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Right?? They make the home complete!!

    ReplyDelete