Baby Hunter!

I'm so sorry for not keeping y'all posted like I promised! It turned into a pretty darn busy summer & I'm finally just starting to settle into hibernation mode.

Since my last post, so much has happened! Not only am I now 27 weeks pregnant, but we found out last month that it's a little baby boy! I am SO excited about this. I find myself spending all of my time daydreaming about what he's going to look like, what characteristics of mine he'll have, what traits of my husband's he'll have, etc., etc. It's amazing to know that in just 13 short weeks he will be here & I will get to spend the coming years finding out all the answers to my questions!

It's also a trip to get to kick back with my hands on my belly and feel him give me a high five from the other side. ;) In the last couple weeks or so he's become A LOT more active...which for the most part is really fun. Not gonna say it's comfortable ALL the time (like right now for instance...as I sit here I have a huge burning pain in the right side of my belly). Although I think this particular pain probably could have been avoided. You see, I had an unfortunate "recycle bin" incident a couple of weeks ago...I was cleaning out baby Hunter's room and decided to take a few things out to the recycle bin. Seeing it was full, I decided to get in and mash it down. A little voice inside my head did tell me that it might not be the best idea...but hubby wasn't home & I'm used to doing things myself! Getting in went fine...I used our "dog poop" bucket to step on in order to climb in 'cause it has a good sturdy lid...or so I thought....holding onto the wood frame of our dog pen for support I eased my way out of the bin and gingerly placed my right foot onto the top of the poop bucket lid..."alright", I'm thinking to myself..."this is going great!"...until crack! The lid collapsed in and into the poop went my foot. Meanwhile, my left leg is still in the recycle bin and both arms are stretched toward the sky holding onto the dog pen for dear life. Then came the really fun part where I got to unfold myself from this mess. Needless to say, if someone had been present with a video camera, it would have made great footage for America's Funniest Home Videos.

Anyway, ever since then, my right side has been just a little "off". Thinkin' it's about time for a trip into the ol' chiropractor. I can actually feel where my shoulder/back/etc. are just a bit tight...and I think it's tweaking my core muscles. Add to that a two pound human pushin' on them from the inside, and it makes for a little discomfort sometimes! ;) But since it's not every day, I've been putting off going in. But I recently read that chiropractic care is good for preggos and can actually help ease labor discomfort...so sign me up! It seems a little odd...at first I was thinking that it can't possibly be safe for the baby, but all the research shows no risks and I really like and trust my doctor. So I'm thinking a visit is in order.

ANYWAY, since I've been rambling on and on now about my gut....here it is!!
I took this picture a couple of weeks ago, so it's even BIGGER now if you can imagine that!! And I still have almost 3 months to go!! They're gonna need a hoist to lift me onto the hospital bed!


On the non-baby front, everything else around here is going good! Hubby and I spent the summer knocking out some "to do list" projects, like putting up more fencing, etc. One thing I really wanted to do this year was to build a paddock for Caspian off of his run in shelter and bring in some hog fuel so his twinkle toes would stay a little bit drier this winter. He seems to like it & I feel so good about getting it done! It's been buggin' me!!
Of course, there's still plenty of work that will be waiting for us come spring, but I'm alright with that! It will help me get back into pre-baby shape. I'm excited to strap that little guy onto my chest and go out and git 'er dun! My mom said that I always enjoyed being outside as a baby, so I'm hoping he won't mind riding along!

Well, think that's it for now! But now that it's dark earlier I think I will be better about updating my blog. It was just a little difficult over the summer 'cause by the time I would get in at dark I would be exhausted!

Hope all of you are doing great & I will try, try, try to be back soon! :)

June update: it's official!

I'm PREGGO! Yep, by this time next year This Kuntry Girl is gonna be packing around a little Kuntry Kiddo! :) My husband and I are so, so excited...it's been a long time coming. Through all the waiting and wondering though we always kept hope, knowing that things would most likely work out just as they were supposed to. And now that it's happened, I can see that it has. My husband used to travel for half the year, but recently had a major career change which will allow him to be home all year. Where I used to be all worried about all the projects that needed to be done around here, I'm finally at peace with the fact that things don't get done overnight. And I'm okay with that. Having said that though, I do feel more comfortable that our "nest" is ready for a little one.

I had my first doctor appointment today and they confirmed that I'm five weeks along. SUPER early still, but hey, I just knew I had to share the news with y'all. :) So this puts me due February 16, 2011. Wow. Seems like a long time away, but I bet it will be here before we know it!

The only thing I'm a teensy bit bummed about is that there will be no horseback riding for me this summer! :( But hey, that's alright...it will all be worth it. And, really, when I adopted Caspian my daydream was that someday soon I'd have a little tyke that would get to enjoy growing up with a horse like I did. I'm so excited for that.

So in the meantime, while I'm sidelined, I'm gonna keep working with Caspian on the ground and I still plan to take him to the SAFE show in August and just do the halter and showmanship classes. I think that will still be really good for both of us.

Okay, I'm off to read my new baby books! I'll keep you guys posted!! :)

May Update

Hey y'all! I'm baaaack! How is everyone? Loving May as much as me? This is one of my favorite months. So much fun to see everything "springing" (ah, ha, ha) to life!

So...still having a bit of a writers block with my blogging...seems like a lot of the stuff that I feel like blogging about is the same stuff I would have blogged about around this time last year! So for now, thought it might be fun to post some before & afters of our yard/arena. Can't believe it's been a year since we started really working on it!

Remember this?

Yay! I have a lawn now! Please excuse my crooked/wavy lines...must've been hittin' the Mike's Hard Lemonade prior to this. Just kidding. ;)Of course, we still have all kinds of work to do...finish weeding, mulching the beds, etc, etc. It really is endless, isn't it?

On to the arena...here it is when there was still a big ol' compost pile in the middle of it...
And here it is now! But it's still unfinished too. We had a friend who was using a dump truck for a project at his house so we were able to go in on it & start getting gravel. There's a great quarry just about 3 miles up the road from us...so convenient! Except that the truck had to go back & we're still a few dumps short on the gravel. So we're gonna have to buck up and pay a dump truck service or rent one ourselves to finish. Yuck. I'm tired of shelling out $$$.

Then, we'll still have to compact the gravel and then bring in sand. But at least it's a start! However, I'm really itchin' to get it done, because fatso needs some good exercise! And my horse does too. He, he. But really, it's been hard to look at this area that is *this close* and not be able to use it yet. Argh. The SAFE show that we participated in last year is coming up in a few months and I'm not sure if I'm gonna make my goal of entering all the English classes if I don't get to work SOON! For now, I've been putting around on him, up the road and whatnot, but I really need to get down to business. All in due time I guess.

If you ask me though, Caspian doesn't seem to mind this situation a bit. He seems more than content to enjoy a life of ease soaking up some sun, rolling in the dirt, and, of course, eating like a horse.

Oh, in other exciting horsey news...I got new truck!!! Long story, but the short of it is that at 205k well driven miles, my trusty Rodeo gave up the fight. She's now parked out to pasture...she might have some more life in her but it's gonna take some diagnostics and we didn't feel like continuing to dump $$ into her. Now we can just work on her a little at a time & not have to depend on her for daily commuting. I had had her into the mechanic a few times in the last couple of months and finally one fateful Saturday she got a little belligerent and started steering us all over the road. It was at that point that we turned her back around and headed home. My hubby was heading out of town for the day, but before he left he found a 2006 F150 for sale in a town a little bit north of us. He wasn't able to come with me, so I called up my mom and we did a bonsai run up there and the rest is history. I now have a new/old truck sitting in my driveway and I absolutely LOVE IT! It's funny how when you have become accustomed to putting up with your car's quirks, it makes you really appreciate driving a super reliable vehicle.

And the most exciting part is that it's the model with the V8 engine and transmission cooler...which means...a HORSE TRAILER is in my future! Eventually. My grandpa has one he's been trying to get me to take but it needs new tires. And probably some welding work. Nothing too major & obviously still a good deal but like I said...so tired of spending $$$. Especially with the recent new/old truck expense. I'm thinkin' maybe I'll be patient and if anyone buys my flowers (fingers crossed) at our Saturday market I'll use that $$ for tires. We'll see. I'll definitely keep you guys posted & you'll be the first to know when my Prince finally gets his chariot! I have so many plans for us once we get mobile! It opens up a whole new world!

Here's a glimpse of some of my baby flowers...hopefully these guys will prove to be profitable and play a role in getting us mobile! Keep your fingers crossed for me! I'll definitely keep y'all posted!

Happy spring and longer days to you all!

Is it really April?

...and have I really not blogged since FEBRUARY?!?! Jeez, I'm such a slacker! Thank you Pony Girl for reaching out and giving me a little cyber tap on the shoulder..."Hello....you out there??" ;)

Yep, I'm still around! So many times I've gone to do a blog post, but have then gotten wrapped up in other things...sometimes it's really hard to find the time, huh? But I've been missin' y'all so HI!!

One of the things that has had me SUPER busy lately is that I've started a flower farm...can't remember if I mentioned that before. I'm totally excited about it, but it has been taking a ton of my energy lately! Not just the manual labor (I'm sitting here with SORE muscles), but also a lot of computer time has been devoted to it. I started a blog for it back in October and recently I've been working on a regular website and facebook page for it. Busy, busy! But fun! It anyone out there is interested in flower farming info, feel free to hop on over to my flower farm blog! :)

So...here's a quick post to update y'all on the latest goings on...

My new favorite piece of decor in my house...a "twig" wall sconce from Partylite! It's supposed to be for candles of course, but what kind of flower farmer would I be if I didn't put flowers in it?! ;)

Spring is finally here! I just love when tulips start showing their colors!

Caspian's doing well, but gave me a bit of a scare last week when I discovered this horrible looking scrape on his back leg! I was absolutely baffled as to how he would have done it...I really try to keep his pasture/shelter area free from any possible hazards. But you know horses! I finally had a lightbulb moment and realized that he must have scraped it on the farrier's hoof stand when he got his pedicure. He was really full of it that day and was being a bit of a pill. How I didn't notice it right away is beyond me, but it's healing up well and I've been giving it lots of TLC. I can hardly stand to look at this picture. My poor baby. It's looking so much better now, thank goodness.

The Wacky Weimies are crazy as always and are really enjoying the nicer weather and longer days. We've gotten back in the routine of our daily walks and all of us are loving it. I live for those walks. Lately, I've even been incorporating some skipping into the routine...'cause it's really fun and helps get my heart rate up! I loathe jogging, but I could skip a mile any day of the week! I have to admit that I go back to walking if I hear a car coming though. I feel like Phoebe from Friends on the episode where she runs with her arms circling like wind turbines through Central Park. And I'm not sure that I want to be known in my 'hood as the girl who "skips" her dogs... ;)
Okey dokey, think that's it for now! But here's a little cyber flower arrangement for you guys...happy spring! I'll try to be back soon! :)

Uncharacteristic

It is uncharacteristically beeee-autiful around here right now! Spring has sprung and weeks ahead of schedule. It's weird to be basking in this spring-type weather when so many other parts of the country have been getting dumped on with snow! But hey, I'm not complaining, for the past couple of years that's been us! Well, I guess we didn't really get dumped on this time of year but it was still COLD and we definitely did have some of the white stuff.

But not this year! It's super warm and everything seems to be coming alive right now. Flowering trees are bursting with color, birds are singing in the trees, horses are shedding...it's craziness! But again, I'm NOT complaining! I'll take it while we've got it! Seems like we get a spring like this about every five years or so. I can remember that both '99 and '05 were like this...so I guess we're right on schedule!

Along with all this nice weather, we've had some absolutely gorgeous sunsets lately. I probably should have saved these pics for "Skywatch Friday" but we all know I've been a little lax in my posting lately, so I figured I better get 'em up now before it's June ;)

Our Forsythia shrubs are blooming, which is one of my favorite flowering shrubs to take cuttings from. These lasted about a week and a half in the vase with very little attention, other than changing out the water. Love having flowers in the house.

Happy almost March everyone! Just a few more weeks to go 'till it's official! WOO-HOO!!!

Out of my blogging block!

...for now at least!

Wow, it's been FOREVER since I last posted! I've still been visiting all of my wonderful bloggy friends, enjoying keeping up with everyone but for some reason I've just had a major blogging block goin' on! I still don't know if I have a whole ton to write about, but I did have a couple of things that I wanted to share with you. One is an idea that I meant to post LAST APRIL! Um, we're now only two months away from THIS APRIL!! I'm so lame! :)

But, nonetheless, here it is:

During this time of the year, I often try to channel some of my energy into working on "inside" tasks. 'Cause I know that as soon as it warms up just a smidgen you won't be able to keep me in! So one thing I did last April was spruce up my media cabinets a little. I was tired of looking at my DVDs and books through the clear glass so I decided to make some fabric panels to dress 'em up a little. I'm a dork and forgot to take before pictures, but you've all seen a cabinet with see through glass, right? ;)

So, here's the after...I chose a faux suede with "tooling"...found it for a pretty good deal at good ol' Walmart.
And here's the inside view. I just took an Elmer's foam board, cut it to the dimension of my glass with an exacto knife and then wrapped the fabric around it, securing it with glue dots. Then, I just tucked it into the recessed area behind the glass and...as "Cake Boss" would say...BADA BOOM! I had fancy cabinet! P.S. That's the real reason I haven't been blogging...been glued to Cake Boss marathons on TLC. ;) he, he
Here, I did the same thing with my book case that's in our front room. It's the first room people see when they walk in and I just think the book case was cluttering it up a little.
Now, it's nice and un-cluttered. Much mo' betta.
Lastly, for those of you like me who are in denial that it's not quite spring yet, let's start some seeds shall we? This is the only good picture I have to post, but I wanted to share an idea I just learned about. Instead of buying peat pots for starting seeds, you can totally use stuff you have around the house! In the background, you'll see a tray filled with toilet paper rolls cut in half, then a tray of plastic pony pack pots that I had left over from last year, and here in the foreground...coffee cups and sleeves! These babies worked PERFECTLY for the larger seedlings that I was transplanting. Just filled 'em up with dirt (using a plastic spoon for scooping) and ta da! An extra bonus to this method is that when you go to plant your start in the ground, you can kinda shimmy the sleeve up to act as a protective barrier for the first few days of being outside in the ground. I can't take credit for this idea...read it in my "Starting from Seed" magazine...what a great resource that magazine was!
More post to follow (I promise!) with pics as my baby plants develop. YAY! These hands just can't WAIT to get dirty!!

Hope everyone is doing well! I'll be back soon! :) Ta ta for now!

For the gals...

I've gone back and forth for a few days on whether or not I wanted to write a post on this particular subject. However, I always feel like if I've gotten some valuable information, it's important to pass it on and blogging is such a wonderful way of sharing knowledge and experiences.

This story has the potential to be VERY long and drawn out, but I think I'll keep it short and just say that it is SO important for us to be informed and in control of our health and the medical care that we receive.

For a some background, I will give a little info. about what I have recently experienced. I am currently undergoing various tests and treatments to determine whether or not I will be able to have children. Again, for the sake of keeping this story short, I think I'll just list out a few things to consider for any other gals who may be in a similar situation. This is just my personal take on the matter, but I'm hoping that my personal experiences might help someone else.

1. Consider seeking the help of a naturopathic doctor. I have seen a few different doctors over the last year or so, and my naturopath has by far been my best experience. I totally feel like she's in my corner. With other doctors, I felt like I was telling them what I should be doing. With her, I truly feel like she's leading me in the right direction. She's really getting to the root of what's going on with me. Most naturopaths are still willing and able to write prescriptions when need be, but they're also more apt to tap into other resources that most conventional doctors wouldn't consider.
2. No matter what kind of doctor you go to, insist on a very detailed blood analysis, checking ALL hormone levels (my first doctor didn't check progesterone...which is SUPER important for sustaining a pregnancy). Also, they will want to check iron stores and even vitamin levels. Plus, whatever else they recommend for your personal situation. With my most recent blood testing (ordered by my naturopath) I found out that I was extremely deficient in vitamin D. I didn't really think much of this (especially since I do live in the PNW...vitamin D deficiency is rampant here!), but apparently there's a major link between vitamin D deficiency and infertility.
3. No matter what, do not take everything a doctor says as the "be all and end all". There are SO many things to consider when it comes to our health and it's never a bad idea to get a second, third...or fourth opinion. You'd be amazed what you learn by keeping your mind open.

Mostly, I just wanted to share this information because I know I'm not the only one out there going through this type of thing. Even for those not in the same boat, I would just like to throw out there that it's never a bad idea to get a work up done to see where you're at health wise.

For example, even if I wasn't trying to get pregnant, a vitamin D deficiency causes all kinds of other problems too. It has been linked with depression, breast cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, fatigue, and osteoporosis. Just to name a few things.

For most people with an extreme deficiency, a regular multi-vitamin (or pre-natal in my case) will not have enough IUs of vitamin D to correct the deficiency. My doctor recommended supplementing with 3000 to 4000 IUs during the months of October through May.

It's funny, because I'm sure I get plenty of vitamin D in the summer...I'm always outside! But up until just recently my hubby was always traveling for work during the summer months...so guess it wasn't really doing me much good then huh?

Anyway, I would definitely encourage all of you to think about getting a blood test done. This coming from someone who literally passed out last time...seriously. But I really feel like this has all been very eye opening for me...so I guess that made the passing out worth it! ;)

Hope this hasn't been too heavy for y'all! Just wanting to look out for my gals! :)

In case you're curious, here's a link to an interesting article on vitamin D deficiency: http://www.womentowomen.com/healthynutrition/vitamind.aspx

Kickin' back with my hoss

Ugh...is anyone else feelin' the winter blues? I don't know about y'all but once the holidays are over I'm READY FOR SPRING! Can I repeat that? I'm READY FOR SPRING!!! Mother nature, did you hear me?

What's that you say? I still have 3-4 months to wait?!

Okay, I guess I better just suck it up then and try to enjoy winter for what it is. At least it gives me lots of down time (hibernation time) to cook up big plans for the upcoming season. I'm always making lists, drawing diagrams, and buggin' Kuntry Boy to listen to my ideas.

And every once in awhile, when there's a break in the weather, I get to go out and get in some good quality bonding time with my favorite pig...er, I mean horse. But you can see how I might get confused right?Caspian's winter area is atrocious right now. Whenever it starts to get under control we get another two weeks of rain and it turns to mush again. Then, when it dries out again just a bit, he wanders up to his favorite spot in the arena and gives himself a good dirt bath. Right after I brush him. Of course, right? I tell ya, I get no respect...no respect.

I'm definitely looking forward to getting this place a little more horse friendly, which includes mud abatement (if there's any such thing in the great Pacific NW) and lots and lots and lots of fencing to put in this spring. Here, Caspian is grazing in our front pasture, but as you can see I have to keep him on a long line due to our lack of fencing in this pasture. It's kinda fun though. I go out with my floral magazines and hold the line while he chows down as much as he possibly can. Kickin' back with my hoss on a Sunday afternoon...with no rain coming down...can't complain about that! :)

What are your thoughts on hangin' balls?

Er, I mean Uncle Jimmy's Hangin' Balls. Wait! That didn't sound right, either...what I meant was...what are your thoughts on horses playing with hangin' balls! Wait! Let me explain!

He, he, he, he, he...I crack myself up! Okay, so I know a lot of times these are called Bizzy Balls. But seriously, the one I just bought for Caspian was called "Uncle Jimmy's Hangin' Balls". My inner adolescent had a pretty good giggle at the store. And while I was hangin' my hangin' ball.

This thing is proving to be a very good baby sitter for my "sharp-minded-I-get-bored-easily-and-my-pacifier-doesn't-entertain-me-anymore-so-I-eat-my-house-ARAB".

You can kinda see in the back corner the pacifier I'm referring to. I got it for him when he started gnawing at the trim boards on his barn. Yeah...well, he played with it for about a week and then it lost its novelty. I still stuff snacks in it for an extra treat for him to find, but I think he's realized it's not a pez dispenser so it doesn't keep him occupied for long. Darn it. Enter the hangin' ball. Please observe:



Now, see the feed tub that's positioned under him? Well, I'll be darned if I didn't watch Mr. Smartypants pick up that tub with his teeth and move it over there so that it could catch the pieces that fell off the ball. He kinda missed his mark a little, but some of it still goes in there. I see it at the bottom when I go to give him his hay. So funny, that guy!

As fun as this is to watch, I think the best thing to cure his boredom will be a buddy to stand next to. Unfortunately, we are still a bit of stall construction and fencing installation away from that. And I have some more work to do on my reluctant cowboy. I think I'm making some headway though. The other night he asked me, "when I get a horse, am I gonna have to wear Stranglers?" He, he, he...but did ya notice? He said "WHEN" I get a horse! YES!!! Progress!!! Now I just have to convince him that he wants "his" horse sooner rather than later! ;)