One handed typing.

Not as dirty as it sounds! just makes updating one's blog slow since one only has one free hand, the other always holding a Smooshy baby.

We are doing well, Smooshy is eating (lots) pooping (lots) and sleeping (lots! yay!) I am finally feeling more normal and thinking I might be back in the saddle by next week, which would be super.

I really like the whole mommy thang, it has it's hard parts like when you reallllllllllly want to shower but can't because this little person NEEDS you so then you just smell bad until your husband (who is working six days a week) gets home. Or when the little critter is upset and you can't figure out why. But in general it is pretty cool. I figure babies are born a few months to early so basically he should still be in my belly and you treat them as such, sort of like a kangaroo.

Like a kangaroo I love my Mei Tai, I think I will love my sling too when I figure out how to use the silly thing properly. I can strap Smooshy on and go for a walk, feed horses, make dinner. Basically anything I need two hands for and he will happily sleep. We went looking for Morels yesterday and he slept damn near the whole time (I also figured out how to nurse him in it, I'm a rockstar) I think this little baby stage lasts for a very short time and that helps keep me from being too frustrated when I can't do the things I want.

Joe has decided Poppy must go now, our pasture is getting really munched down and he is really worried about feeding hay all summer. They are on the back part and have grazed it down to nothing. We have about three acres fenced off for them but the grass quality varies a lot depending on what part of the old farm it was, it would be much better with two instead of three. So this week she needs her coggins done, feet trimmed and to be cleaned up. I'll get some decent pictures and put her back into work and up for sale. She was an upgrade so I don't care if I get much for her, would just like to see her taken care of. I picked up her up super cheap and improved her training (although she is still quite green) so hopefully we can get her into a better place then she would have been otherwise.

Joy needs a lot of conditioning but she looks good, I'm really excited to start riding again. Planning on starting off with some light trail rides and lunging (likely with the chambon to get her neck properly muscled before we start our dressage work, silly giraffe horse) I need a lot of core conditioning so am starting now with daily walks with baby, pilates and yoga when I can fit it in. Hopefully riding soon and start running around the six week pp mark (end of the month) I didn't gain much weight with baby but all my muscles are squishy. I'm planning on taking Joy out and about for experience, getting in some much needed lessons and aiming for a later summer show. I also want to get her properly fitted for saddles, since I am sick of everything sliding forward on her and trying to figure what will work on my own, hopefully can get something I already own reflocked.


anyway that is us :)
xo

Poneh hate.

I hate all the ponehs except the red one, the white one came when called so even though she was out I guess I don't hate her.

Try this again, I hate Little Horse.

She may look cute but is pure unadulterated evil.

Little horse realized yesterday that she could get out, so she was in and out all day yesterday, luckily when she gets out she just follows you like a big dog and demands cookies. I isolated where she was getting out (second paddock next to the barn) and closed the gate so all three were in the first paddock. Sometime early this morning Joy and Littlehorse decided escaping was awesome and busted through the gate so they could sneak out by the barn. I went out to check on them this morning and Poppy was all alone running around the field having a spazz. Joy did come to the front gate when I yelled so can't be to pissed at her.

So I went into the barn and cried for a bit, got the fence tester out and determined that the back half of the second paddock is getting no juice so now need to run up town, to get more wire and try replacing a few sections.

I so do not want to deal with this.

goals and the upcoming year

Since it is January and I don't feel like folding clothes I thought I would post about goals. I am not the type of person who likes making New Year resolutions, I think if you are going to make a change it needs to come from within and be attainable, so I guess a resolution like "I am going to my body healthier" is more my style then the infamous "I am going to lose ten pounds" type resolution.

Looking back at this post I did in the summer (before I knew I was pregnant) I think my goals were pretty reasonable, taking lessons, trying to get to another show and improving my fitness and Joy's dressage. Of course shortly after that post I found out I was preggers, we had some financial restraints and our infamous "move in while looking for a house and stay for fucking ever" house guests happened. In short life happened and while I am not disappointed in myself I do wish finances were not an issue, I still rode and worked on Joy's fitness and training and feel we got a lot accomplished even if it wasn't quite how I pictured it.

So basically my goals for 2012
-I want the remainder of my pregnancy and labor to be uneventful
-I want to have a healthy and happy baby
-Get myself and Joy fit
-improve Baby horse's ground manners (not human Baby that would be silly)
-get Poppy started under saddle and make preparations to sell her
-improve Joy's dressage (biggies are balance and relaxation)
-Have some lessons to get experience and feedback on our training
-Make it to at least two horse trials
-continue improving pasture and fencing (love my husband)
-set up better arena space (see above)
-have fun!

On a poneh health front everyone is doing great, weight is good for all three. The weather has been freakish and we are back to mud mud mud so I haven't taken any recent pictures. I can't get them to touch the GroStrong minerals that I was trying to feed free choice, so have been mixing the appropriate amount in with the morning feed of beet pulp and rice bran. I don't think I will buy them again since the primary component is salt (which they already get free choice, they especially enjoy the Himalayan rock salt) and they have no interest in eating the stuff free choice and if they won't touch it then it defeats the purpose of offering it. Planning on putting Joy on some Glanzen Complete since she did well on it last year and looking into joint supplements, at least will try some msm.

On the Me health front Baby and I are doing good, still having a surprising amount of sleepiness, I feel kinda lame because I get so tired, I feel like all I do is eat and sleep right now. I think giving myself permission to be tired helped, I don't feel as guilty for "not getting as much done" and I am doing something, I'm growing a person! I found making a big list of the things that have to be done and doing one thing off the list everyday helps, makes me feel more accomplished and less overwhelmed.

I'm also doing a lot of research on hospital births and procedures although I am going with the nurse midwives at a birth center it is different then doing it at home and I want to be educated. My midwife says everything looks great and is really supportive which is so nice since I had to take a "parent education class" through the health center and it was all "of course you want an epidural, they are totally wonderful and safe!" Out of the 15 women there only three of us were going with midwives, I guess I didn't realize how pervasive the modern birth attitudes are, I really don't believe giving birth should be like an illness or trauma that has to be interfered with. I have time but I think it is best to figure out what I want now.

baby needs tasty noms and so do ponehs so I better go feed myself and critters :)

in which computers suck and I whine

Empty house today, I celebrated by reading trashy novels, surfing the internet in my jammies and not feeding critters until noon. The only useful thing I have done today is shower and that was due to extreme stinkyness. For breakfast I ate two bowls of captain crunch and drank coffee, I felt weird so I ate the left over (from like Friday) Chinese food and some "buttered" "toast". Now I need more coffee becauseI feel icky.
 
I was highly considering going to the mall to buy slutty underwear but then realized the mall is full of people, and buying things and spending money. All things I don't like (except for the getting new things, I like that, have you seen my huge book/shoe/yarn/clothing/glitter collections?)

I tried to order candle stuff yesterday and after huge deliberations (over an hour!) over what to get I finally ordered and the fucking virus population on the computer freaked out and wouldn't let me, they don't want me to be happy. So off to the library again to try and order stuff but now I am all second guessy like what do I know about candle making, I feel like I am just gonna order a bunch of supplies and then ruin them. I hate hate hate that our computer is fucked, I really am a fan of ordering stuff online and always feel rushed when I can't do it from home, that's the whole point.

Burdock needs to be cut out of the paddock before it releases all it's nasty little seeds everywhere, Baby is already sporting a very cutting edge Burrhawk. Poppy is still not gaining weight like I want so I need to pick up a couple bags of grain for her, Probably triple crown. I think once she is worked more she will have better muscling, she is not super thin but I'm not happy with how she looks.

Date night tonight, making steak and have a ginourmous bottle of wine, we have kicked everyone else out of the house. Should be nice but I really should head out and get my stuff done.

it is hot!

Worked Red Mare today, I think her name is Poppy, should start calling her that. I have been working on her feet and they look way better, still need improvement however. She does pretty well if I give her a bucket of grain and then file, she doesn't tie and I realized I need a better place to tie so I am going to try and set something up this weekend yesterday she went down on both knees when I was working on her feet because she tried to stomp at a fly, she was very puzzled how she got that way but didn't get upset, it was funny!. I lunged her today and worked on voice commands, I wish I had a proper round pen and could work on getting her to come to meat the end, she did well on the commands though, sorta over reactive and not sure where her body is which is normal because she is young.

Lunged Joy today with sidereins,she did beautifully, much more balanced and supple. She is really getting the submission to the bit concept. Still would like to see her shifting her weight onto her hindquarters and relaxing her back though, I guess it is all a process.I rode her on the trails yesterday, did the two mile loop. She started out kinda hot and distracted but by the end was going nicely, she certainly has a lot of stamina though.

Introducing the Mare without a name.

It has been a bit since I have updated, Mostly because the computer was being a pain, Joe fixed it and it is starting to be a pain again and I sincerely hope it is not because of my horse message board, sounds dumb but I would hate to give it up but our computer is picking something up despite the anti virus stuff.

Big news is, I bought Red Mare! Went to look at her on Thursday and really liked her so she came home with me. She is very sweet, pretty mover despite her feet being awful and very level headed despite having next to no work done with her.

Here is my new Red Mare, She is a three year old arab/saddlebred.

on her sale ad she made cranky face

But in person she is more like this

Her feet need work and she needs some groceries

Sometimes she looks like a saddlebred

but she is very cute

She seems to settling in well now although in the first two days she broke quite a lot of fence, She kept escaping at dusk, it was very odd since they would all get along fine during the day and in the evening she would go walkabout. I started stalling her in the evening and now she is staying home even when turned out all the time.

Still picking out a name, so far liking Poppy, Amber, Scarlett, Lucy and Ruby. Hard to choose, her registered name is terrible, "My Girl"

This weekend is going to be fairly crazy with having a bunch of company (including my mom and sister, yay!) coming to our house to celebrate Midsummers. I have a bunch of cleaning to do and work outside to accomplish, so might not get a chance to update as much as I would like. Hoping to do an event in the beginning of July so gotta work on conditioning Joy more (and feeding red mare up and working baby on the ground and fencing and weed whipping and)