Land of the Little Horses

On Monday, we went to the Land of the Little Horses in Gettysburg, PA. We went with John's coworker, Eric, his daughter and two nieces. Nat really gets along with his daughter and really LOVES horses so we were excited. After struggling to get someone moving (not mentioning any names), an hour+ drive, and $41.00 in admission we were IN! (The price included a $5 commemorative blue plastic mug filled with horse food pellets -- getting it was all daddy's doing.)

So, after paying admission (in the huge gift shoppe full of kid-geared equine paraphenalia - brilliant maneuver) we entered into the "horse park." It really was a land of little horses! There were little tiny corrals containing mini stallions. There were other mini horses and mini donkey roaming freely, following anyone with a blue plastic mug. Immediately we saw the main barn and a sign outlining the events of the day. (Kind-of like what I imagine on a cruise ship... or a retirement community - 10:00, 2:00 Shuffleboard) The events here included a "close encounters" program where we met the horses in the main barn, mini horse races, and an arena show complete with its own concession stand. There was also a nature trail with exotic animals featured along the way, pony rides and hay rides. There was even a restaurant where you could get pizza, burgers, fries, etc.! It was kind-of weird almost; this big production for these little animals who meander around looking for treats.

In the "close encounters" we learned that the family that started this park were the first to bring mini horses into the United States in 1971. The couple saw the minis while on vacation in Argentina and had 25 of them shipped via boat to Gettysburg. Eventually, one barn expanded into this extravaganza complete with mic'ed announcers. Even more amazingly, we met one of the original 25 horses whose name was Bebe. He'll be 38 this year!

Later, we went to the air conditioned arena, ate popcorn and watched the show which included horses performing jumps and moving in formation, a llama who can bow, .... hmmm ... some dogs, oh, and one horse who can do math.

Most importantly, all 5 girls were very good and had a fun time. By far, Nat's favorite event was simply the pony ride... and then, probably just being able to pet and hug the animals. We had a good day.

To see our album from the day, with some good pics of the kids, go to the right hand side of the blog under Albums and click on "Land of Little Horses"

Too Big for Her Britches

Yeah, I'm talking about Nat. She is really into an independent stage right now and is obsessed with growing up. One day last week, she immediately told 4 different people on separate occasions, "I'm getting tall" while putting her finger to the top of her head. She wants to do everything on her own and .... well, pictures speak louder than words. She insisted painting her own toe nails and I loosely supervised (mainly to save the surrounding area).
John said, "looks like you're getting ready to film a horror movie!"

I don't know WHAT to title this

For a week or two, I've been thinking about writing a post about my latest culinary exploits; about all of the wonderful things I have been, well, mostly baking. The title was going to be something like "I really CAN cook" or "I'm on a 'Roll" or something that rhymes. After Saturday night, that all changed. I made snickerdoodles.... and ate them for dinner. No, not two. Try 20!!! The recipe was to make 40 cookies, I can account for 18 of them and Julsie may have had another couple. That makes 20 cookies!!! Even if it didn't make exactly 40 cookies, it is clear I ate about 1/2 the batch. I couldn't help but think I needed to change the tone and title of the post to "Confessions of a Closet Carboholic." Yes, my stomach was uncomfortably full and bloated.

Anyway, it all started with John thawing out a bunch of purees I had in the freezer. I prepared them last fall when my MIL, Mare, bought me the Jessica Seinfeld book, Deceptively Delicious. I couldn't possibly let them go to waste, so I started making recipes from that book. Additionally, I got 7 lbs of blueberries and after eating about 2 lbs the first night, I started NEEDING to make some baked goods requiring them. By then, I was in a downward carb spiral... making more and needing more and making more and... well, you get the picture.

In just over a month, I've made 2 batches of chocolate chip cookies, 1 batch of snickerdoodles, 1 batch of oatmeal raisin (I tried freezing these to slow my onslaught, but quickly found out they are good frozen), 1 batch of blueberry muffins, 3 batches of blueberry cheesecake muffins (with spinach and squash), 1 batch of lemon raspberry muffins (with squash and rasp), corn muffins, hmm. Is that all?

I also just got done making raspberry and blackberry freezer jam. I picked the raspberries fresh this year from a ravine behind our apartment and I picked the blackberries from the same spot last year.

On the good side, I've been cooking squash like its going out of style.... or like its going out of sale at Giant! Of course, I sprinkle cheese on it and dip it in sour cream with Hidden Valley Ranch mixed in. hahaha.

Update on Jazzy

Well, Jaz is pretty much house trained and we finally steam cleaned our carpets. (Although like many women, she has a weak bladder and can occasionally leak a drop or two when excited.)

She is doing much better with the kids (and vice versa.) While they each have their moments and Jaz can forget that Julsie is NOT a speed bump, they can finally sit together civilly. Let me tell you, I am relieved to have at least some of that stress fading. We still have to take the girls' toys away from Jaz, but she is getting much better at giving them up. She's not making us chase her, diving around after her like crazy people ... well, maybe that was just ME diving around like a crazy person.

Nat is like a mini dog whisperer. While she stills melts down at times, she can tell Jasmine to sit and to come.... and Jaz actually listens! Nat wants to pet her more and take care of her.... and sometimes she wants to shove her in her kennel and lock the door =) But overall they are doing much better.

Anyway, here are some sweet pics of them.

PS If you think that she is still a little puppy, think again. She's a stinkin' giant.

It's Official - We're all Bi-Peds

Julsie can walk! Julsie can walk!!!! After weeks of faking us out, walking just holding one finger, standing for long periods while we were on baited-breath - just to sit down on her bum and laugh at us in the face -- she finally did it!
On Monday at the beach, she was by herself on the sand and took a step. (Thank goodness for my photo friend, Annie, with camera at-the-ready. She actually caught a picture of it! )
Then at home on Tuesday it was really real! On her own, she walked about 3 steps from the chair to the ottoman. We practiced with her for a while. She was so pleased with herself, laughing and burying her head in daddy's lap as she made it to the finish! Natalie loved it and was so stinkin' cute. She would stand with arms out-stretched, "walk to me Julsie, walk to me!" Luckily I actually caught some of it on video camera! (Much better than Nat's first steps. I was at church and she and daddy were home sick. I came home to hear the news from him. Good thing I was at church or I would've been really upset). Unluckily I am completely inept at tech-stuff and have no idea how to get that video on the blog. Oh well, you'll all just have to come see her =)
After all this waiting for her to finally do it, John said, "I kind-of don't want her to walk." You know what, neither do I! I mean, I want her to be developmentally on track, but our baby is growing up! Yuck. Soon she won't be a baby anymore, she'll be a movin' and grovin', gettin'-into-everything, faster-than-light Toddler! Humphf - the ambivalence.
But Yeah Julsie -- we're so excited and proud of you!

Camping Part Deux

Part two.... for our family. Here is some more info about my kids specifically.

After a 40 minute ride in our friend's jam-packed Honda Pilot (2 adults, 4 kids and all our junk), we arrived at Gifford-Pinchot. Luckily, for once, I packed light!

With the humidity, we were glad to get into the lake. Nat kept saying "fatha, fatha" until we were in water as high as her chin. She has been daring in the water lately. Of course, she could be daring because she had already checked with daddy to make sure there were no alligators there =) ...oh, and if there were monsters in the woods.

Little Jules enjoyed herself in the shallow waters, but kept sticking her fingers in the water and then sucking on them. Ugh! I was keeping my fingers crossed that we wouldn't end up with some intestinal issues later that night.

The girls (with my assistance) did their first teeter-totter and we swung on the swings. While I was pushing Nat, Jules was chillin' nearby like a good little girl.... like usual. All of a sudden she stood up and took a step all on her own! I was pretty excited.

When we decided to head to the campsite, I took both girls into the showers and with some fairly adept manuevering, we shimmied out of our soaking wet suits, lathered, washed and rinsed (with some may say "cold", I say, "refreshing' water), dried and dressed without anyone touching the inherently creepy floors, walls, or fixtures! Yeah!

My responsibility was to bring the firewood and I was therefore the default choice for firestarter. I brought newspaper and a lint filled paper egg carton and it started like a dream. Too little kindling though and we were soon on the way to get some more wood. Oh, well, over all, we got our schmarshmallows, hot dogs and foil dinners cooked, albeit a little late.

Nat and Jules were little angels the entire day. Nat sat in her Dora chair and Jules sat patiently on a blanket while I worked on the fire, etc. At the lake, I left Nat with the group of moms while I got her a snack. She never left the exact spot I left her at on the blanket. They were so so good.

Late in the night, Nat finally got the gumption up to ask to go play with some of the other kids. Miss Cheryl held her hand and took her over to little Kylee who took over the hand-holding responsibilities and off they skipped. I was happy for Natty. To Cheryl's surprise (and mine too), Nat even asked for a turn with the flashlight!

Later, Natty comes to me and says, "you know that boy, Kaitlyn's boy?" "Yeah, her brother?" "Yeah, he talked to me! ... I think he likes me." I said, "yeah, I think he does, you're a nice girl." She was also saying bye to some of the little girls she met for the first time, was chit-chatting with Kaitlyn, and was so excited to be in Miss Chrissy's car. I was very happy for her. (She's pretty shy.)

Oh! and Julsie wolfed down one whole hot dog. Natty had TWO! ... and she loves s'mores, just without the marshmallow and graham cracker!

Adventure to 141

Yesterday 6 other mommy's and I ventured to Gifford Pinchot State Park with 13 of our children in tow. Average age of these kids? --- THREE!

Our initial plan was just moms and kids... over night... in tents. Most husbands thought we were just crazy (I mean, who would start a fire and pitch a tent?) As it turned out, only about 4 of us moms were on board for all that. But we were determined to do it and to prove everyone wrong..... that is until John heard of the plans.

Upon realizing I was serious about this camping business, "trooper daddy" came out and in no uncertain terms, forbid me to go, highlighting the stars of the show we'd just finished watching - America's Most Wanted. (I probably could have picked a better time to bring it up.)

Once I emailed everyone that I couldn't stay over and why, all of the rest of the husbands said, "See? Its not just me! Finally, someone with a little sense." And all the mom's gently pulled back on our spoiled rotten teenager talk - the "Oh yes I am!"-s.

Our solution? We WERE going camping! (Oh yes we were-er!) ... We just wouldn't actually sleep there. ... I know, you're thinking, "huh?" "lame-o!" "that's not camping."


But it WAS camping! We swam in a lake, we made our own fire, we set up a tent, we cooked foil-dinners and hot dogs and smarshmallows, we made S'mores, collected plants and creatures in jars, showered and pee'd in public facilities (not at the same time.) And we did it ALL with little to no crying, no fighting, no broken bones, no splinters, no burns, no poison ivy (that I know of yet), no hot-dog-stick-pokes-to-the-eyes, I don't even think there was a knee scrape. So if you didn't know it already, I'll clear it up...

we're a bunch of super-moms who will face votes of 'No Confidence' from those around us, confront meal plans that are destined to be the antithesis of our current diet, battle bugs and sand, dirt and sun just to give our kids an adventure to remember.... and I know they will.

Accidentally assuaged

Like most kids, one of the girls' favorite things to do is to get into drawers and pull out the contents. "Hey, this looks like a treasure!" Well today, Jules pulled the drawer open and accidentally bonked Nat in the noggin. Of course, we get the immediate, "Mom, she hit me in the head with that." (Which is, I have to say, better than the immediate push, slap, or rough grab that we were getting frequently.) I try to explain that it was an accident but as I mentioned in the previous post, I'm not so sure Nat understands that concept. Then I tell Juslie, more for Nat's benefit than hers, that she needs to be careful and ask, "can you tell Nat you're sorry?" To my surprise, Julsie starts scooting over to Nat! "Go ahead, give her a hug." .... and she did! I was thrilled!!!! 1. because, it was the first time I 100% KNOW that she understood something I said and 2. because she is learning to be nice! Phew, what a relief!!!! .... and it was just too adorable.

Friday Festivities

For the second Friday in a row, we were outside enjoying free activities! This week we were at a free outdoor movie sponsored by our township. It started at 9pm so I was a little worried the stinkers would not make it ... or would be complete bears, but we gave them a late nap and they were great! The only person that fell asleep was John!

If there had been a prize for bringing the most stuff we'd have won handily. We had water, blankets, cookies, toys... and that was just the stuff I packed. John went to Giant and got some chips (our favorite - lime tostitos), cheetos for his little girl, and a diet pop. As we were leaving the house, Nat came out loaded-for-bear. She had a stuffed cat, 3 blankets (one for each her, jlo and the cat), and a giant old leather purse. I whittled it down to one blanket, but the cat and purse were necessities. Oh well, the girls were completely occupied and pleasant patrons.

On arriving we received 4 free packs of Twizzlers. .... Add that to the snacks we brought and we had "a sugar situation." We ate the entire bag of chips and 2 packs of Twizzlers!!!! (Julsie mostly just licked off the lime flavoring) We tried to eat the cheetos too, don't let their absence in the "finished" section fool ya. When I opened them up, "woah, these are red?" Ooops. John accidentally picked up the Flaming Hot Cheetos instead. Pooh - and Nat had been so excited! She did make a valiant effort to eat a few though ... the evidence of which was all over her white shirt. The whole mix-up did make quite an impression on her. On three or four different occasions today she said, in a softly whining voice, "why did daddy get those other cheetos?" Despite my attempts to adequately explain his mistake and sincere apology, she just wasn't quite there.

All in all, we had a good time. Nat was all ready to do it again.

Bye-Bye BUD-ie

Budweiser, Anheuser Busch, being owned by some company in Belgium? Are you kidding me?Does it make anyone else sick? I mean, I'm not a big Bud drinker myself, but I'm fed-up with American icons being bought by foreign companies ... and being sold in the first place for that matter. Is it all about the buck? Ugh.

Does anyone remember in Pretty Woman, when Edward (Richard Gere) is explaining his business to Vivian (Julia Roberts)? He is a corporate raider who takes buys a company's stock then breaks it up and sells it off piece by piece. Viv says, "...so you don't build anything and you don't make anything?" She was kind-of confused and disheartened by that.

This Bud thing just reminded me of that. I know that Bud will still be made here, but I can't help but feel a little disheartened and confused either. Maybe its because I live in Hershey and have heard reliable rumors that all their chocolate making jobs are moving to Mexico. Maybe its because I lived in Pittsburgh, PA - the one time heart of the steel world (and steel was the heart of the building of this country), with mills running up and down each barge-filled river for literally miles and miles. Today, there is not one functioning steel mill in Pittsburgh ... but they have turned some of the cites into nice shopping centers! What are Pittsburghers now? Doctors, Lawyers and the people who serve them. Maybe its because my home town is now a ghost town and I hear of the good-ole days of the Viscose and Talon and the more recent good-ole days of the tool and die era - when a regular guy could get a good paying job and really have the American dream.

Sorry for the rant.

"Nobody knows..."

Lately, my kids have met or seen quite a few of our old friends who really don't see them often. Every time one of these situations comes up, I find myself desperately wanting my friends to see how neat my kids are. I want Nat to tell all her funny jokes, sing, dance, have her hair combed, be her sweet little self. I want Julsie to have a great day, no fussing, just smiling, laughing, kissing and being adorable.
But inevitably, when these situations arise it always seems that Jules is getting teeth or a cold or is constipated; that Nat has decided not to talk at all, or is having major issues with her nose, or completely trashes her hair and refuses to let me comb it again (probably because I already tortured her trying to get it to look nice)
Then I realized something. No matter how hard I try or how much I want these friends to see how great, amazing, wonderful, sweet, funny, and cool my kids are - they can't. It's just not possible. There is no way anyone else in the world can have that special relationship we have that allows them to be truly themselves with me. No one in the world can ever feel the way I feel when I snuzzle that sleeping child in my arms; the sense of complete and utter bliss, the deep and pure love that fully envelopes me while I'm looking at this little miracle that is a perfect blend of me and the man I love most.
No matter how hard I try, none of my friends ever CAN know how amazing my kids are.... and you know what, I'm kind-a glad about that.

Bathroom Humor

So, I just get done telling you how Nat loves her dad and can't leave him alone...wherever he may be. The other day, she realizes he is not in the living room and finds the bathroom door locked. The following is an approximation of that conversation.

(knock knock knock)

"Dad, can I come in?"

"No hun, I'm getting in the shower."

"But why can't I come in?"

"Because you really shouldn't see my privates. We should try to keep our privates covered."

"Oh..... you need to wear underwear."

"Yeah"

"So you don't poop on the floor.... like Jasmine."

Oh Daddy!

Poor daddy. He doesn't get much play time on this blog does he? Well let me give you all an update on the wonderful man in my life.

Until his dream of 20 acres, 10 ton of rock and him driving a skid steer come to fruition, he'll have to limit his handyman/landscaper penchant to our front patio. Here's a pic of the flower box he built to cover the grill. He chose and takes care of the plants himself. (That was a month ago, the blooms are completely over-flowing now.)

Our two little stinkers can't get enough of him. Jules flips out, arms waving, and yelling when he comes in the door. Both wrap themselves around their daddy like little urchins and won't let go. Its like they can't get close enough to him; standing on him, pulling on him, glued to him. Coming to the shallow end of the pool from the deep end, both girls spotted him. I was already holding Jules so he picked Natty up. Let me tell you, Julsie was none too pleased at that.


Anytime he is on the floor, the scene is like the above. Jules can't just get NEAR him, she has to be ON him, preferrably on his head. Maybe because that's the only place Nat isn't!


Tob still LOVES his job, and I'm probably biased, but I think he is pretty good at it too. His calm demeanor, self-control, common sense, and sincerity really are perfect for this job. We're both a little bumbed Col. Miller is resigning.


John either eats to gain mass or to get lean. Since January he has been eating "clean" and well, he officially has his pool physique now. I married a pretty good lookin' man, if I do say so myself. At work, "I wonder how I could get Tob in here to show him off." Is that wrong of me? I would have posted a pic, but he would have been outraged!!!

John is a GREAT dad. He makes them a part of his life even at this young age when many dads could take a backseat, letting the mother handle this stage. He takes them to go shoot his bow, to meet big dogs, to swim, to the gym, to the river with Jazzy. (Recently he has had Nat chest high in the river looking for "creatures" with him.) They will definitely be braver, tougher and dirtier than they would be if I was the only one hanging out with them =) He can diaper, feed, spank/time-out, wipe, bathe, read to, dress, and put them to bed. But best of all, he LOVES and adores us, and would rather be with us than anywhere. I am so thankful to God for giving me such a wonderful man to share life with. xoxo

Oh Natty!

Our little Natalie is becoming such a big girl. I can't believe it. She is such a little helper (when she wants to be) and is becoming so aware of everything going on around her. Here are some things she's been up to lately:

- I have been doing her hair different lately and she just looks so beautiful.... and so grown up Oh my goodness, these 3 and 1/2 years have gone by so quickly. (I know, I know, with that volume, add a little make-up and she'll be ready for the TX pageant circuit. I just can't help it)

- She is a wild woman at Hershey Park! She is now a "Hershey Kiss" meaning she is just over 36" and can ride a bunch more rides. She loves the bigger rides and has been known to ride the same ride 10 times in a row. She has even ridden level 3 rides (out of 5). Here is a pic of mommy and Nat on the "Flying Falcon." Daddy took her on it and she insisted on going again. I decided I'd be brave and try it, but by the time I got off I was experiencing Vertigo and she was up for more!

- She also LOVES seeing the characters at the park. Here's the whole fam a couple weeks ago when our good friends came down to visit.

- Daddy was reading Bambi to her and (he says, without prodding) she said she wanted to shoot Bambi and eat him for meat. Is there anyone out there now who thinks I'm exaggerating when I say I have a daddy's girl?

- She has started calling me "hun" or "honey." I just absolutely love it. "Could I carry that hun?" or "Lets go to the store honey"
- At the pool, Daddy showed her a crow flying by and explained the idea of a scarecrow. Then pointing out the plastic owl hanging below the deck near the pool he said, "or you could hang up a fake owl like that one to scare the birds away." She said, "or you could hang up a kangaroo." - She loves knock-knock jokes right now. The first few weeks she would tell me this same one 25 times in a row: "Knock-knock." "Who's there?" "Gorilla" "Gorilla who?" "Gorilla Monkey!" Now she has advanced and makes up all kinds of knock-knocks.

- She has her moments of not sharing with Jules, but she also has her moments of pure sweetness where she just wants to kiss her and squeeze her (almost too hard.) She is good at letting me know just what Jules is doing (ie Julsie just waked up and she is laughing, or I think she wants to eat).

- "Can I have milk and chocolate in it?"

- She can climb all the way to the top of this climbing wall and back over the other side at the playground now. "That's easy." Here's a old pic just to show it to you.

- She still LOVES horses and wants to ride them and pet them and talks about her favorite horse, Norman.

- No matter what she is eating, she gets food all over her face. It's either a line of food encircling her mouth about a 1/2" from the edge of her lips or an extra large smile extending from cheek to cheek. We can be with 10 other little girls, they'll all have clean faces and she'll look like she's painted her face with the pudding rather than eating it.

- She is my precious little girl. We are so blessed to have such a sweet and dear soul in our family. We love you!