Flashback!

I stole some time at the barn, and was overly disappointed when it started to thunder as we were bringing horses in for the night. I actually had time, but the cursed weather foiled my plan to take the mare for a spin. I was going to anyways, since I didn't see any actual lightining, but B said "Do you really want to be attached to a very tall object in a very flat field?"... sigh. She's always right.

So instead, in true fashion when four horse women get together, the stories started flying about our funny horse moments, like when Thoroughbred mares get attacked by crime tape and pool noodles, and our lovely young horses get spooked by wayward hunt caps. I believe B's husband calls it 'nattering'.

It reminded me of a time when I lived in Hawai'i...and I had to share, as the memory of it had me laughing all the way home.

The place that I rode had a beautiful set up. You can check them out here. My best friend Sam and I used to hack up to the big field (or 'Uptop') and play around with our ponies often. They offered some cross country jumps, and a huge half-mile track we used to condition. Half way around the track was a turn off to go back down to the barn.

We decided, during one bareback adventure, that it would be fun to gallop the ponies around the track.

Sam and her pony went first. They got to the 'y' in the track and I could see Sam desperatly pulling her pony's head to the left, to continue around the track, but the pony was popping her shoulder to the right. They didn't even miss a beat before that pony dropped her shoulder and spun. Sam shot like an arrow head first over her shoulder and was deposited less than gracefully, face first, into the very large manure pile. The pony, sensing freedom, shot for home, screaming like a banshee the entire time.

I was laughing like a loon at this point, and the pony that I was on decided that it would be preferrable to also go home. Didn't that little devil grab the bit in her teeth and take off like a shot! I was pully reining with all my might, but having been unseated when pony blasted off, it was all I could do to stay on. We got to the 'y' and I don't think that I even had an option. My pony was going home regardless of if I was with her or not. I made one last attempt to pull her up, and with a very shrill pony scream she put her head down and bucked as hard as ever she could.

I was deposited, just as gracefully, into the manure pile next to Sam while my pony also made a bid for home.

After extracting ourselves from the pile, throwing minor fits, and de-pooping we saw Sam's Dad walking up the trail, ponies in hand, with a huge smile on his face. The smile broke into bouts of hysteria when he realized just what had happened. The laughter was contagious, and he legged us back up onto our poines so we could continue the ride.

I guess it wasn't exactly what the ponies had in mind, as we finished our circle around the track with two ponies throwing very pony-style fits complete with screams, bucking, spinning, and rearing.  

We survived however, and when we got back to home base we vowed to always start going away from the 'y'. I think that the amount of manure that we extracted from our hair, helmets, socks, bras, underwear, and between our teeth was record setting. We had a small moutain of it on the floor of the tack room.

Never argue with a pony!

Post Title...Because I'm Creative Like That.



I have a hard time getting over this face....

This one isn't bad either... ;-)





The man is a recruiting machine... the baby amuses herself with the hokey pokey.



Dixie's on the leash skill(z) are really starting to improve...we've even been able to take our nightly family walks without the EasyWalk Harness, and it's awesomesocks. Good training? Ha! I think she's just maturing.



Dixie attempted to oversee the process, but everybody was having a rough time focusing...



The movie selection proved to be too stressful, however...

And so the girls decided to take a nap, after a puking incident occurred. Gettin' into 'the milk' and partyin' all night takes it's toll on a girl....apparently.



She thinks she's pretty hot stuff now... and she is.

She thinks that she's hot stuff too...but she's mostly just an idiot who eats tampons out of my purse.

I apologize for the use of the word idiot, Lainey.

Remind me to take a picture of the tiki-turd...and also to call Directv and cancel our subscription to all the movie channels.

Oh, and to remember to buy wormer.



It's Friday!

Which means that I probably should get on with re-capping last weekend. Something tells me that this weekend isn't going to be as exciting.

Thank goodness!

Since Mike has come home, we haven't had a quiet weekend to ourselves. I'd love to sneak some barn time in though. :-)

Last weekend was a 4 day for Mike, which meant traveling for us. We went down (up? across?) to NH to visit his family so that Shannon can meet her GreatGrandpas! I love spending time with family, and it's always fun to introduce the baby to more of them.

We had a great lunch, and played a few games of pool. Shannon was a champ the entire visit, but decided that when it was time to go, it was time to go NOW. The drive is about an hour and a half, so we try to plan in around her morning and afternoon naps. Now that she's getting older, she gets bored a lot faster, which means screaming in the carseat. We try to avoid that as much as possible. This weekend was great, she slept all the way down and all the way back. Go baby go!

Sunday was spent grocery shopping, and keeping the wee one entertained so that Mike could get some school work done. Monday was the same, except I wandered off to my folks house for most of the day. We ended up having dinner there, and it's always fun when the whole family gets together. My sister was home for the summer, and she was excited to see Shannon (who wouldn't be!). Mike and Dixie came down later in the afternoon, and my Mimmie came up as well. Fun was had by all!

Tuesday was the storm from h*ll! It was the most insane weather I've ever seen in my very short life. We're talking tornado warnings, sideways rain, and me having a complete anxiety attack and locking everybody in the bathroom. Animals included. I was prepared for the worst, and convinced that Shannon and I would soon be re-enacting The Wizard of Oz.

This was at 3 in the afternoon... it got dark QUICK.

Luckily the worst of it only lasted about an hour and it helped to cool things off. The southern part of the state seemed to get the worst of it, and a few tornados were even sited!

Yikes.

The rest of the week has been pretty non-entertaining. Shannon has managed to keep my boobs covered in public (thank you, child). We're going through a MAJOR growth spurt and combine that with the ability to roll over and sleep is lacking.

I don't do well on no sleep, but luckily Mike is home now, so he's able to take over a few night wake-ups. We're back to being up every couple of hours, either because she's hungry or she's managed to flip herself over in her sleep and she HATES sleeping on her back. Luckily she's up, eating, and back to bed within a half hour but the interrupted sleep messes with a Mommy's head.

We're finally able to front face in her front pack, and she's enjoying family walks much more now.

Mike gets really exciting about baby wearing, can't you tell?

Yesterday I got to sneak in some barn time, and gave Willow a much needed beauty treatment. The lighting was wonderful, so I got a bit snap happy with my camera. She's just the prettiest thing I've seen in a long time...

Her mane pre-beautifying...also observe Rio's shadow 'sneaking' up on me, and Mica's shadow coming up for a snuggle behind.

After her beauty treatment... I LOVE those dapples!!

  

I'm still in total shock. :-) She was a champ for her day of beauty, and I enjoyed having the barn to myself. It was so quiet and lovely!

Shannon also got to go to her Auntie's Lacross game, where she was the star of the post game huddle. When Abby brought her down to join the rest of the team, you could hear to collective 'Awwww' from the girls. I'm hoping none of them got any ideas...

Her picture is also going to be in the paper. :-)

She's a star already! I love it.

How can that face not be though?

And finally, if you haven't had enough of my excessive pictures in this post. We went for a little drive yesterday, and I'm now convinced that we live in one of the most beautiful places on earth.



What It Means.

I was going to post this yesterday, but spending time with the family took a front seat.

We had a great weekend, filled with both our family! Shannon got to meet her Great Grandparents on Mike's side, and we took tons of pictures, which I'll post later.

While the weekend was about bbq's, time off work, soaking up the sun, and adult beverages for the majority of the population, Memorial Day is special for all of those that have been, or still are, military.

I made sure to take a few moments to remember those who have served and lost for our country. The men and women who left behind wives, daughters, sons, husbands, mothers, fathers, and friends to fight for the very things that give me the ability to own this blog. That give all of us the ability live in the freedom that we so enjoy.

I hope you all took a moment to remember those brave men and women who gave or are willing to give their lives for you, even though they don't even and probably never will know you.

My husband is my hero because of the job that he has done in defending our country. He's an amazing father, husband, son, and brother.

So I hope that you all took a moment to find the nearest service member and shake their hand. I hope that you all took a moment to bow your head in silence to remember the REAL meaning behind Memorial Day. I hope that you reached out to a Gold Star family if you know one, or gave a hug to a spouse who has the love of their life deployed right now. While we're enjoying beers and burgers, they are over there dumping sand out of their boots and sleeping with their rifles.

Freedom isn't free... and I hope that you all remember what it means, because some gave all.

Source

 

The Big Reveal

It's been a pretty tame week here so far. A lot of Army Wives is being watched. Memorial Day this weekend means a four day weekend for Michael, and a trip to NH for the family.

Yesterday was a pretty fun day for us Jones girls. Shannon rolled over twice, however I couldn't manage to get anything on video. She's really digging the large amounts of tummy time, and only really wants to be held when she's eating.

This Momma feels pretty used.

:-)

We're starting on the whole teething adventure, so I decided that it might be a good idea to run and pick up more children's tylenol to have on hand. Shannon was wide awake when we pulled up to the gas station, so I decided to carry her in, instead of keeping her in her car seat. She loves to flirt and look around. Who am I to deny her that?

We got what we went in for, plus a coke for Mom. My hands were beyond full, and Shannon was having a great time playing with the lace on my tank top. She's really loving discovering different textures.

She was having such a great time, that she was working on bringing the lace into her mouth. As we got to the register, didn't that little bugger lose control of her hand, and instead of pulling the lace into her mouth it went down instead.

My bra went with it.

Yup. My kid pulled my boob out.

The whole kit n'caboole popped right out and I'm not sure who got more red. The little boy behind the register or me.

Of course, my hands were full of baby and extra stuff, and I think I almost dropped Shannon in my rush to unload stuff onto the counter, so that I could put the 'wild one' back into her proper place.

Not a word was exchanged between the cashier and I, and I've never been checked out faster.

Needless to say, I'll be wearing turtlenecks for the rest of the summer, and we won't be going back there anytime soon!

I love being a Mom....

Yikes. 

3 Months!

Can you even believe it!

Little Miss Shannon hit three months yesterday. She's growing so much faster than I could have imagined, and I'm loving every moment with her.

She handled her shots like a champ, and I'm glad I made the choice to split them up. We'll be doing the same thing for her 4 month shots at the end of June.

She's getting so strong! She can push herself up onto her hands during tummy time and you can't put her down without her changing direction or wiggling herself off her play mat. Often we put her down for the night in her crib and she ends up on the opposite side facing the totally opposite direction. Mike and I get a kick out of figuring out where she'll be in the morning.

She is discovering her hands and feet, and puts anything in close range in her mouth. Biting down as hard as she can is a fun new thing that she's been practicing. She would much rather be facing out when you're holding her, looking around is super!

She and Dixie are best buddies these days, and Dixie is always close by. They ride together in the car, and Shannon is always reaching to attempt to pet her.

She was 9lbs 9oz at her 2 month appointment, and her doctor is THRILLED with how healthy and happy she is.

Breastfeeding is still going strong, and it's as easy as ever!

All in all, she still remains the blessing that she was when we found out we were going to be adding to our family on Father's Day of last June! I'm looking forward to each and every day. Watching her grow and learn is so exciting!

It's All About Choices.

Most of the time, I open a new blog window, sit in front of it for ten minutes staring at the little blinky text line, then decide that I don't really have anything to write that is of note, so I just hit the 'close' button and get on with my day.

This morning though, while I was nursing the baby, and Daddy-O was getting ready for work, something popped up on my Facebook feed that pushed my grumpy button.

I originally wanted to stay out of the whole 'Are you Mom enough?' Times article bologna. I'm not really going to voice my opinion on it, because I don't really care how other parent's parent. If your kid is happy and healthy... good for you. I'm very pro-breastfeeding and I applaud any Mom that wants to at least try. Anything is better than nothing. I don't know how long I'm planning on breastfeeding Shannon, but it's the business of my family. Me, Shannon, and Mike. Period.

My friend over at Starting From Scratch puts it better than I ever would. Go check her out... she's awesome.

What really got on my nerves was a friend saying that people were getting on her case for being a stay at home mom...that she needed to get a job to be 'normal', that she needed to put her child down, that basically everything she was doing was wrong.

Combine this with all the nasty comments that I was reading about the Times article and another comment I read about somebody marrying their husband for the military benefits. It's enough to make this very sleep deprived Mommy want to scream.

ENOUGH PEOPLE!

Aren't we all on the same team here?

I'm blessed enough to be able to stay at home with Shannon. It was a decision that Mike and I made together. I worked up until two days before I had her, and I do still go to the barn to help deflect the cost of owning Willow, but my daughter has never and will never see the inside of a daycare. My main focus is Shannon. People who say that being a SAHM is 'easy', isn't a 'job', or isn't 'normal' need to pull their head out of their behind.

I'm on call 24/7 and I love it. There are days that I am so jealous that Mike gets to get up, enjoy his 30 minute long showers, and leave for work. I know that his job isn't stressfree and that he works hard, but he gets to interact with adults. He doesn't get peed on, he doesn't have to walk around with a foot and a half tall screaming monster attached to his boobs, he doesn't smell like puke half the day, and he gets the time to take a shower and put on real clothes.

When she starts screaming at night, there isn't anything that he can do. It's Mommy that gets to stumble bleary eyed into the other room at midnight or four am and feed the baby. How is that lazy?

He got to go away for training, while I worked at getting the baby to sleep in her crib and through the night. He got to hang up the phone and go to bed. Most nights, I was so jealous of him.

Don't begin to tell me that I'm lazy for staying at home with her. Don't tell ANY Mom that she's lazy for staying at home with her child or children. I know a Mom who is an inspiration to me. She has 3 beautiful girls, loves her family the way that they deserve, and hardly ever complains about the hours that her husband puts in. I'll bet the farm that she doesn't sit around and watch Spanish soaps all day. She's a role model Mommy and Wife. Anybody would be able to learn a thing or two (or ten) from her.

We chose for me to stay at home with Shannon, not only because we both feel that me being home with her is beneficial to her, but because it's what we can afford.

Even if I was able to find a job, the cost of putting her in daycare would mean that we wouldn't be making any money from the job that I had. My paycheck would be turned right back around and put into daycare. The only thing that would be different is that I wouldn't have the time with her that I'm so blessed to have.

It's a great option for some, but it wasn't for us.

My husband doesn't complain, and he would defend me should it come up. Not that I need defending really.

We share home chores pretty equally, but it is me that does the majority of the grocery shopping, dish washing, diaper changing, dog walking, (I'm not going to say laundry folding because we are both horrible at that), and baby entertaining.

He's in charge of the bill paying and helps out with everything else every chance that he gets.

And they look really cute together.

I'm glad that my friend is bold enough to speak up for herself, and I just want this to be a message to everybody in the 'SAHM is lazy' mind-set. Sit down, shut up, and move on with your own life.

For all of you who make the comment that I'm just married to my husband for his benefits... have you SEEN the man? I'm obviously married to him for his looks.

Sheesh.

Military families have it hard, and the benefits are hardly reflective of the amount of bologna that we and our husbands often have to put up with, not to mention picking up our whole lives and moving because somebody else told us to. Now with Obama threating retirements, the cuts that are being made, and the whole war issue, you really think that we're going along with this whole thing for the healthcare?

I'm throwing cards in on that one.

The majority of men and women join the military out of pride for their country, and because they want to better themselves. They love what they do, and they do it with all their heart.

Many military families are making way below the poverty line. The person in the family who is enlisted works long hours. They don't get extra for holidays or overtime. Many days, Mike is out the door by 6, and doesn't get home until 8. When he has to drive to MEPS, it's even later. Yes, we get a living allowance, but most of the time that isn't enough. Even though Mike (not 'we'...Mike) is an NCO, we have enough to put food on the table, and a roof over our heads.  I work at the barn to defray some of the costs of owning Willow, and I'm so thankful to Mike that we have been able to keep her. Had I not been able to work, and had I not fallen in line with the BEST barn owner on the planet, it wouldn't happen. 

Not to mention that when signing, he or she is agreeing to put his or her life on the line, without question. 

Next time you see a military wife (or husband!) don't tell them that they married for the benefits... just know that it's not all what it's cracked up to be.  

I love my husband, and I would love my husband regardless of his job. It's about the person that he is, not the benefits his job can give me.

Now that this blog as reached almost 1,000 hits (whoop!) I just want to let everybody whose reading it know... it's easy to judge from the outside. Please don't.

Oh...and that Shannon is the cutest darn thing in the whole entire world.