Prelude to a Cake???

So today is Hannah's first birthday. We will be celebrating with a small party here at the house on Saturday. Just so she knew she was so special, she had her favorite dinner tonight, ravioli with tomato sauce (and some green beans thrown in). She very much enjoys sharing with the dog....which you can see in some of these pictures. I am interested to see if this will be what she looks like at her party...only with icing to replace the sauce!
I ordered her cake today. It will have two horses on it, which she will love. They didn't have any cow figures (she really loves cows) or I would have gotten one of each. I'll also pick up a small 6 inch cake for her to smear all over everything! Woohoo!

Like it was yesterday

Hannah will be 1 year old tomorrow! I can NOT believe it has flown by so quickly. I will finally get to say what Mom always does to me and Paul...."this time one year ago......" only I can clearly remember every fine detail pretty much down to the minute. :) Hannah was born at 6:06pm on a tuesday evening. We will be having a small party for her on saturday. Just a few friends (an Mom if the weather will cooperate) and some food. Hannah will more than likely have cake everywhere....as she likes to rub everything into her hair. Don't worry, I'll have my camera ready!

Poker anyone?

Hannah and I went to Carie and Marty's house yesterday. They were having a Sunday evening poker party with a few friends. Hannah got to meet another toddler named Savannah. At first they were shy around each other but after a little while they were passing toys and cheerios back and forth. It has been a little while since we've done an outing like this due to such nasty cold weather. It was nice to get out for a while and visit with friends. Lou stayed home to do some work around the farm. I know he wanted to go but had too much to get done.

Here's Hannah learning the rules of Texas Hold'em from her "Aunt" Carie.

I meant to post this picture of Sealy the other day. She's been in "boot camp" for a month now and is FINALLY doing as asked. She's pulled some stunts that had Michelle both laughing and scratching her head. I was mortified to hear she was in such raging heat that she peed all over her male turn out friend....literally on his head. Anyway, she's going to be there for at least two more months of training, possibly three depending on my finances. The guy riding her is Michelle's fiance, Dusty. Yeah, my mare is small....but he is 6'4"!! He really likes her though so he's been doing most of her riding. Which is good because she needs to have someone in her corner!

Road Trip!

I took a four hour trek yesterday to drop Folly (see article below) at New Vocations yesterday. I was on the road by 6am and rolled in here at 2:45pm. It was a long day but well worth it. The farm is gorgeous and all the girls there were very nice. Folly settled right in and started eating his hay. If anyone is interested in browsing their website: http://www.horseadoption.com/

Also, I have a free gelding that needs a home. His name is Ludington and he's 6 years old and 16.1 hands tall. He needs 2-3 months off before being started back into work. Please contact me if you know anyone who might be interested in this horse. I can give more detail info about him.

The article is published! Woot Woot!

So last week I had a phone interview with a reporter from a thoroughbred racing magazine called "The Bloodhorse." I had contacted them back in december about a horse we were retiring form racing that I felt deserved some recognition. Well they did the story and the article came out today! Check it out!
http://news.bloodhorse.com/article/48871.htm?id=48871

A night out?

Seriously? Yeah....I finally got to go out with some girlfriends while hubby stayed in with the baby! There were 8 of us. We went to dinner and then to the movies. We saw "Bride Wars." Definitely a chick flick. It was good but probably something I would rather have rented eventually. There were some funny parts though. Still a good time. Lou had no trouble getting Hannah to bed (thanks Jen for all the sleep training you did this week to prepare!). I think I rolled in at about 1am. Way too late for sure but the roads were getting bad so I took my time.
I have my durango back too. They finished the transmission friday afternoon. I'm so excited to have my "Truck" back!
Today was my first day back in the barn since last week. It was good to get out and do something. Even if it was nasty cold outside. This afternoon we went to a surprise birthday party for Lou's friend Sean. He is turning 30 tomorrow. Hannah enjoyed it too. She sampled some pasta and a little bit of meatball....plus some strawberry icecream. She was tired but behaved really well.
I'm hoping tomorrow Lou will put front shoes on my new horse, Lego. He lost one and seems to be fairly tender footed. Luckily there is a pretty deep snowy cushion out there....but I'd like to get him done so his feet don't break up. I'm actually really anxious to work with him....come on spring!

I'm on "Vacation"

Not really but I haven't been in the barn since Monday. Auntie has been sick with the nasty, nasty intestinal virus that Hannah had. Hannah has been well for a while now so I'm not sure if Auntie actually got it from her or not. Anyway, I've been fortunate enough that I've been inside during all this COLD weather. I do feel a little guilty that everyone else is out there....but not too guilty. Lou goes out and I don't see him again until dinnertime. I have no idea what he's been up to all day. Sure would be nice to have an afternoon break though. I bet Hannah would like to play with her Daddy too.
I have to admit I've been having fun with Hannah though. We play and dance and sing, then eat. This morning she watched as I vacuumed and shampooed the carpet in our room and in the guest room. Then she'd head over to her play table and spin the bowl on it to hear the ABC song. She's my little shadow throughout the day.
So far sleep training is going well. Knocking on wood she's slept through the night since Sunday! We had one crying episode Wednesday night when she woke up at 11pm and cried for 45 minutes. It was difficult but I didn't go to her and she then slept until 7am. Still waiting for my body to adjust so I can sleep like that as well.
I've been having horse withdrawl to an extent. I'd like to go do something with my new horse. Get to know him and see what he's like. It is just too cold....and I'm eagerly awaiting a new shoe job (hubby does it when he's tired of hearing me ask) and for my dentist to come do his teeth. I don't really want to start him in any real work yet....just want to play. I had to put a cribbing collar on him the other day. Poor Folly (his turn out buddy) wears one and was standing next to him watching him crib. It was like the one kid at school who got a really cool treat in his lunch and the kid next to him watches him eat it....longingly. So Lego is now where his "smoker's patch" and is probably pretty darned upset I took away his "high" and made him stay outside in this frigid weather. Poor guy.
I guess that's it for updates....stay warm everyone!

Just like Gramma!

Hannah loves the phone. She loves the cell phone. Any "real" phone is the coolest thing ever! Toy phones....not so much. You can't fool her! Anyone else think she looks like her Gramma Rose in these? Haha! I think she definitely gets it form her Gramma! Love ya Mom!

Hmmmmm....who should we call?

Must have been the wrong number!

Here we are playing with Hannah's Pizza Table. She loves this thing because she can stand and play. She will even prop herself on it so she can let go and not fall down. She enjoys standing there and dancing while it sings the ABC song.
This is what I saw from my deck this morning. It's been slowly accumulating over the last five days. I think it's been about four years since we've had so much snow in so little time. The horses are staying close to their hay feeders. It's only about 10 degrees today before windchill factors. We are supposed to get down to -5 tonight. Yuck!

Geesh....today was rough!

Sleep training continued.
Auntie came in this morning and was given very specific directions as to what to do for Hannah's morning nap. I told her it was VERY important that she follow through or Hannah would get confused. So she calls me in the barn aounrd 10:30 and says Hannah has been crying for an hour, what should she do? I said, leave her alone. I could hear her screaming and I had the sinking feeling Auntie would go pick her up. So 30 minutes later I called her cell to check in and she didn't answer....after 15 more minutes I call again and no answer. By this point I'm stressing because I am thinking she's in the room rocking the baby.....So when I come in at 12:30 she's awake and playing in the living room. Auntie says Hannah cried for 90 minutes and slept for 30. Great. That stinks. So this afternoon I'm thinking is going to be a breeze because she's so tired. Nope. She was started to doze as I put her in the crib and the second I set her down she started screaming. She cried for TWO HOURS. At this point it was too late for a nap and the book says to skip the nap and put them to bed eariler if this happens. So tonight she had her bottle and went to bed about 30 seconds after laying her down. SHe cried for about half that time and was out like a light. Last night she slept from 8pm to 6:15am. I hope she does again. I have to retrain my body to not wake up at 2am, 4 am and then 6am. So hopefully I'll sleep too. I'm crossing my fingers for another quiet night!

Sleep Training and a new toothbrush!

I bought a book entitled "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. I encourage any of you with small babies to read it. Hannah has not slept through the night since she was 7 months old. We had a wind storm that knocked out power out for a week so we slept at Lou's aunt's house for the week. Hannah slept in bed with me all week. Since then she wakes up around 2am and will not settle unless I take her to bed with me. Lou usually falls asleep in his chair or wanders into the guest room because he knows bringing her to bed will let me rest some. It has been a long, long, long time since I've slept for 8 straight hours so I decided it was time for sleep training before things really got out of hand. I started with Hannah's morning nap. We rocked in her room with her bottle and her music on. She was so tired but really refused to go to sleep. So I told her it was nap time and put her in the crib. In the book it says to leave them alone and not to respond to the crying. Hannah cried for an hour and then fell asleep...on her own! This technique is very difficult to do because you instinctively want to go to them and feel extremely guilty for letting them cry. The books stated leaving them alone allows them to develop sleep skills which means they can soothe themselves back to sleep without assistance. In the long run it is healthier because sleep deprivation can lead to all types of bad things (health problems, learning problems, behavioral problems just to name a few). So we are doing this cold turkey. This afternoon I used the same practice with a bottle, music and rocking. I put Hannah down looking drowsy...she rolled over and went to sleep on her own. Tonight we had a bath, a bottle and rocked for a while. I made sure not to let her fall asleep drinking that bottle so she'd not only finish it but would go to sleep on her own. She cried for 10 minute on and off and that was it! I'm hoping we don't have any major meltdowns at 2am but I have promised myself I would not go to her until after 5:30am. I'm crossing my fingers that this works quickly. All of the testimonials in the book have been between 3-7 days for it to work with the majority being 5 days. Eventually Hannah should be able to be put in her crib for both naps and bedtime while she's awake and put herself to sleep on her own with no crying. Won't that be glorious?? Oh yes!

Now my problem is if her aunt who watches her in the mornings will follow through with this. If she doesn't, she could completely screw things up. She has a tendency to do what I ask for a day or two and then make excuses as to why she can't do it anymore (ex. can't put her in the crib for naps because she's too short to reach down there....the railing does not lower....).

In other baby news, Hannah is getting two new teeth. Both on the top, one is to the side and one is a middle front tooth. They have been bothering her so a friend's mom suggested an electric toothbrush. She said her kids went through them like crazy and they always helped them feel better. Just let them chew on them...hmmm....So I bought one of the el cheapo models for her. She LOVES to chew on it but is scared of it when you turn it on. Darn....could have saved $5 and got her a reach. ha!

Snow...

Well since yesterday morning we've had roughly 6-7 inches of snow. Then this afternoon it turned to rain. We are supposed to have a relatively clear day tomorrow followed by four straight snowy days. We don't typically get this much snow at once so this has actually been a treat for us. Lou is a little bummed because he wants to go snowmobiling but has no snow mobile. So tonight he took the 4 wheel drive quad down to a friends for some nighttime riding. He wanted me to go but I'm feeling really tired lately and think I need to hit the sack early. Hannah is breaking two new teeth in and sleep has been sporadic at best. Ohhh to be the man in the relationship who hears NOTHING at night and has lost only two nights sleep in the last 11 1/2 months! *sigh*

Good news is I went back to the eye doc today and we ordered new contacts. Pretty sad that the highlight of my day is the fact I've been put into new lenses! Anyway these are "dailies" so no more buying contact solutions and no more contact cases. Wear for a day and throw away! Doc thinks the drops helped a little but I honeslty felt the same from day one to the end of week three on them. So I can see now and have no more dry eyes. Someday......I WILL have lasiq done....someday!

Let's Get Going

"Lego" is home and snuggled up in his warm blanket. He went outside today and became fast friends with Frazee's Folly. They trotted around and then played a little halter tag. Hopefully Folly has shown Lego where the round bale is and they are munching away together. We'll see in the morning if anyone has any new kick or bite marks from their first night out together.

He just followed me home!

Well, not exactly....but I'll be bringing home a new horse this week that was given to me by another trainer. I sold a horse for her this past saturday and when I asked about "Lego" (if it fits that will be his name) she said to take him home and have fun. So that's the plan! Sealy is at the trainers learning how to be a good event horsey....and my little chestnut gelding "Sean" is doing the same. So Lego will come home and hang out in the pasture for a few months and then learn to jump.These aren't the best pics....but hopefully he'll have a bath and get cleaned up for some new ones when he gets here. I was told he's quiet and kind so I'm excited about him.

Hannah seems to be getting her appetite back after a really nasty intestinal virus. I woulnd't wish that on anyone! So hopefully in the next few days she'll feel well enough to start her sleep training....aka "crying it out." Maybe someday in the near future I'll also get 8 straight hours of sleep. I can not remember the last time that happened.

So I had a follow up with my eye doctor today. About 3 weeks ago I went in because my vision had become blurry when I wore my contacts. Turned out my allergies were really bad! Go figure! Anyway, because of my allergies, my upper eyelids were all bumpy on the insides causing a lot of irritation. So I've been using eye drops that were prescribed to me. Ever seen 5ml of liquid gold? Well I'll show you if you wanna see....that's what I call those anyway because they were EXPENSIVE. I don't know how people can get away with charging so much for 5ml of liquid. What is wrong with this picture? How much? $210 for one bottle and $130 for the other! Insurance paid $40 each. Woohoo, that helped. So my miracle drops didn't really do the jo they were supposed to do and the doc is now calling it a "chronic" issue. Meaning it will happen anytime my allergies are bad. My best option would be lasiq surgery. I WISH! Been wanting that for 15 years now! So option number two is switching to daily contacts. He gave me five days worth and I go back afterwards for another exam and to order more if I like them. So far so good. I hope this works out because my glasses give my headaches!

Happy New Year!

Lou, his Dad and his doctor left for Philly Park yesterday morning. We have a horse running there today and they also went to look at 2 or 3 horses to possibly claim. His doctor (Steve) wants to own a couple of racehorses and has been very excited to be involved in the process. So that leaves me, Sharon and Mike in the barn. Which would normally be okay but Sharon came down with Hannah's virus yesterday and was sidlelined all day. I have not talked with her yet this morning but did go out to the store last night to pick up some fluids for her.
So this morning I wake up to some seriously rumbling tummy sounds and yours truely has the beginnings of this nasty virus. Yay.....I'm trying to down some airbourne now and have lots od pedialyte (tastes better than airbourne!) so I'm hoping it doesn't knocki me out onto the couch for the afternoon. Especially because Hannah is beginning to feel better and is playing more.
Happy New Year everyone!