Hello Again

O.K. this has to be some kind of record. It's been so long since I've written anything I could start a whole new blog.

Lets see, to catch up: My mom's horse Kid came to live with us since she can't ride him anymore. He's big (16.2) and has a huge stride. Every time she rides him her back hurts terribly. She ended up getting a Rocky Mountain Saddle Horse. He's all of 14 hands and is such a little pistol! His favorite pastime is to get his front legs into the water tub and splash around. The barn owner loves him, but understandably not to pleased with his antics.

The cat Smoke decided he likes the neighbors across the road better than us, so he now lives there. A friend had a pregnant cat dumped at her house, so we adopted 2. One died from a cat parasite that normally stays in the intestinal tract, but had left and invaded the nervous system. By the time we could catch her (she was really skittish) it was to late. The other one, Felix is still here. He is the neatest cat. He is so laid back. Dogs will tear up to him barking and growling and all he does is sit there like "Dude, you totally got dog breath. Go get a mint or something". He's not so great at mousing, though.

Connor is now in second grade, Gillian just finished preschool. They are doing very well.

We were having a lot of problems with Connor's behavior for a while. He was throwing tantrums left and right, arguing till he was blue in the face, and generally not a happy child. We read books, talked to other parents, his pediatrician (who's a jerk, but that's a whole other post). We ended up taking him for testing at Nationwide Children's Hospital. He has ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (an autism). After switching to a Pediatrician who would listen to us, he was started on meds for the ADHD and PDD. We also started to take him to therapy. We learned different ways to discipline Connor. He's not a "normal" kid and doesn't respond to normal disciplining. It has made a world of difference. A friend said he lost that sad, haunted look he always had. The marvelous, intelligent and incredibly funny kid he is is finally starting to shine through. In a way we are glad he has these conditions. He sees the world in such a wonderful way. We have since learned that many famous, talented people were not "normal". They had ADHD, dyslexia, autism disorders, etc. Google it. You'd be amazed. Abnormal is a good thing.

Gillian, well she always has been and still is a little ray of sunshine. Nothing new there. She is , however, much more active than most kids. We're used to that.


My Dad passed away from lung cancer last August and in October my mom moved out here from Maryland. We've been very slowly been readying her house for her to move in, so she's living with us until then. With her 2 dogs. 3 small dogs and 1 Cooper. How this house doesn't smell like dog, I'll never know.

Jared has moved to the Build team on the project he's on. That means he has to fly out to D.C. once a month for a week. God bless single moms. I don't know how they do it.

Jared's parents bought a condo nearby, so the kids are really happy to have Grandma and PopPop so close. They wanted to move to Utah so badly. My sister-in-law lives there and they love the land. After spending a month there, though, they changed their mind. It's Ohio all the way.


I guess those are the major points. Beside remodeling the house and multiplying raised beds (I swear it's like eating potato chips- just one more!), not much more. Thank goodness.

One day, when I figure out how, I'll add pictures of the loony bunch.

Back to work

I have decided that if I want to continue to have a horse, I need to go back to work. So I'm going back to horseshoeing. I do love it, but sometimes the horse owners are aggrevating. Anytime the horse is off, it's automaticly the farriers fault. It couldn't possibly be the horse was pushed beyond what his talent and confirmation allow. It couldn't be the saddle fits badly and the horse is lame in his back. Sigh. And people wonder why farriers are grouchy. Vets feel the same way,too. My vet ranted one day about ill-mannered horses that try to kill you and the owners who worry that their baby will get hurt. In the mean time the poor vet or farrier is laying in a crumpled heap, bleeding and begging for someone to call 911! I once had a client who was greatly relieved to find the blood on the ground and on my apron was mine, not the horses. I should have charged her extra.

Okay, enough rant. I still love the challenge of shoeing.

Connor graduated from pre-school last week. He looked so cute in his cap and gown. Now he's off for kindergarten. He'll love it, even if now he says he won't go. He loves to meet new kids and always makes a friend when we go to the park or beach.

Cooper has shown us just how athletic he is. He jumps over the gates leading out of the back yard and can climb the fence. Our fencing guy, Kelly, watched him go over one day and suggested we go electric. Just one strand on the top might keep him in. Luckily he doesn't go anywhere except to chase the horses. Sean looks at him as an annoying pest, unless he's bored, then he's fun to chase around the field.

Border Collies are so clever. They are a great breed, but definitely not for everyone. They are beautiful, smart, high energy and always need to have a job. They definitely need an active family. I feel so sad and helpless when I go onto Petfinder.com and see these dogs, knowing they will probably be put to sleep. Luckily, we have here Buckeye Border Collie Rescue. Other states have rescues, but it always seems there are too many dogs. Why is it so hard to get people to spay or neuter their pets? They aren't the ones getting snipped. It's the animals who pay.

For great dog training, check out Ceasar Milan's web site. He's known as the Dog Whisperer. I love to watch his shows. I learn so much and realized that Coop's quirks are easily handled. Be the Alpha Dog!

Springtime and the living is grand

Has it really been that long since I've blogged? Oh well....

It's been beautiful weather here in central Ohio, enough to get me in the mood for gardening and riding again. I may not be able to ride until July, but I can groom and lunge the guys.

I started seeds, for the most part, and they're coming up pretty quick. I still need to make 5 raised beds to put them all in! It's not that hard really. I just get 3 2"x12", about 8' long. I cut one in half, screw them into 4 4"x4" posts, about 1' high, and voila, I have a raised bed I can put wherever I want. I made the mistake the first year of puting the posts into the ground, about a foot deep, to anchor the bed. It got very complicated, making sure the posts were in the right place, corners were square, etc. That would be why I only had one bed last year!

We know spring is here, because Connor has been running around outside barefooted, and getting caked in mud. And not just any mud: rich, thick, gooey Ohio clay mud. Either you power wash the kid or wait until it dries and try to chisel him out. He prefers the power wash.

My therapy is going well. I can almost completely bend my knee. Just as my Dr. promised, I went into my 5 week post-op checkup without a limp.

So, I'm on the road to happier days. Kids outside playing and not inside bored and compaining. Lots of WARM sunshine, fresh air and the smell of flower and new mown grass!

Heaven.

OK, so it's been 2 weeks. I haven't been able to sit at the computer comfortably. But today my knee feels great, my stitches came out and I can actually bend it. My Dr. said in three weeks I'll be walking into the office without a limp. WOW! ACL replacement has come a long way. When I tore the ACL, it involved a hospital stay, cast, and a year long recovery. So I opted to live with it. Now I'll be able to ride in 6 months.
Jared has been taking Cooper to his agility class. Coop's loving it, and Jared is having fun. It's a good way for him to relax and get his mind of work.
Gillian loves having Mommy on the sofa and all to herself all day.
Other than that, not much is happening around here. Which is fine. I don't think I can handle any craziness right now.

I had surgery today. I am laying here with a huge brace on my left leg. I'm all set with a really cool icing system: ice and water is in a small cooler and a hose runs from it to pads under the brace and circulates the water. Cool!

The kids and Cooper think its great. Mommy to pile on and she can't get away. It's okay, it keeps me from getting too bored. Which, by the way, I am. I've been here for 3 hours, most of it asleep and I'm ready to get up. Odd, I always wish I could get in a nap. Now what?

Okay, now it's been 4 1/2 hours and it's quite active in here. Dr. Connor is taking good care of me and Gillian is telling me stories.

Poor Jared is feeding the horses and they have no respect for him.

Well, one knee down, one to go. Yes, I tore the other ACL, too. Someone called me the luckiest girl alive today.

Tomorrow will be a better day.

Gillian strongly believes that if Mommy is at the computer, then it's time to nurse. Talk about multitasking.

Connor believes that he must own every Thomas the Tank Engine toy, book, movie, etc.

Jared believes the house can be completely clean and orderly at all times (ha!).

The dogs believe they should have baked chicken, sirloin steak and cheese at every meal.

The horses believe there isn't enough carrots, peppermints or apples in their lives.

Since I never see the cat, who know what he believes.

I believe I'm going nuts.

As I sit here typing, a baby lies in my lap, dead asleep. Seems she can't possibly sleep without a little "mommy milk". I feel like a cow.

The last couple of days have been eventful. Connor threw a fit at Sam's club because I put blueberries in the basket. He usually loves them. Apparently I hurt his feelings. Huh? He's a difficult child to begin with, we think he may have ADD. His dad does and his uncle (my brother-in-law) has ADHD. Joy. A friend suggested we try giving him caffeinated soda, it has the opposite effect than it has on other people. It works! Guess he just didn't have enough that day.

This morning my dad called from Maryland, were he and my mom live. She's supposed to have knee replacement surgery, but it was postponed. At her pre-op checkup the docters found suspicious shadows on her lung x-ray. We were terrified it was cancer. It wasn't. It was TB.
She's from Chile, and I guess it was in her when she came here. She has a very strong immune system (hence the bad rhuematoid arthritis and knee replacement) and her body encapsalated the bacteria, so it didn't progress. But because of her arthritis, she went on Remicaid to lower her immunity. The bacteria got loose and grew. She lived with us for 6 months, the time the disease began. So now we all have to get tested to make sure we don't have it. Gillian and Connor were tested today, I go tomorrow. Jared will go next week, he needs a checkup anyway.

So I spent my day making phone calls and running around like a beheaded chicken.

What really stinks is that this happens 2 days before I have surgery for a torn ACL and shredded miniscus. I don't need anymore stressors.

Jared is taking a week off to take care of things for me. Poor guy, I don't think he knows what he's in for. I don't have to cook, hehehehe!

Maybe tomorrow not much will happen. Yeah, fat chance.