High Risk Behavior???

So... my previous post got me thinking about where you draw the line between what is considered safe, and what is considered "not" safe. Everyone obviously has their own opinions about whether or not their hobbies (in most of our cases, horses!) range from mildly dangerous (say riding a bicycle down the street), to downright nerve wracking (think about something like skiing or snowboarding down an off limit part of a mountain, causing a landslide).
I don't know about you, but I tend to not think of horseback riding as an extreme sport. Maybe some disciplines are more likely to cause serious injuries, like extreme cross country jumping, but even that is debatable, because hopefully the riders who are competing at that level are competent.
That being said, I remember how shocked I was when Amber's trauma surgeon (she was thrown from a quad and stopped by a tree...not good combination...about two years ago), commented that she was lucky that she had never been severely injured before because she engages in what is considered by trauma surgeons and emergency rooms everywhere, as high risk, thrill seeking, life endangering behavior. What??!!! I was totally floored! I remember being like "horses??? Are you kidding me???" The answer was "no" he was not. And according to him, the fact that she rides ATV's was just the icing on the cake. He even jokingly asked if she skied or snowboarded as well.
I think that my little eye opening conversation helped me to realize that just about anything that we do, and that we allow our kids to do, can potentially cause harm, and it is our responsibility to ourselves, and to our kids (if we have them!) to make sure that we, or our kids, are educated in whatever it is that we/they are doing. Obviously we cannot keep bad things from happening, but we can actively make a decision to prevent something from happening (like potentially placing Katie and Sienna in a precarious situation), and as long as we take the necessary steps towards safety, we are at least eliminating senseless, needless, and preventable injuries or deaths from occurring. Should you make you or your kids wear a helmet, require that everyone who rides an ATV wear full body armor and a helmet, or penalize those who participate in "off-road" snowboarding or skiing? That answer is not up to me, it is up to the individuals who participate in any of those activities, and that is part of what makes us all unique! For the record, we do wear helmets when riding horses or quads (no armor though), and I have no problem if somebody wants to go off limits while skiing or snowboarding. See??? I am not a total fuddy duddy...lol!!!

PS-My above post does NOT refer to allowing your kids to "be kids"and then blaming yourself when someone gets hurt...I am thinking of a recent incident that involved tree climbing and a trip to the ER. You did nothing wrong in allowing your kidlets to climb trees, and please do not feel that you did! :) Hope that you and your little one are feeling better!

Am I A Paranoid Mother?

Amber and I have had an ongoing debate about what she calls my "extreme paranoia," in regards to my concern about the safety of kids on horses ( don't worry, we still get along great, we just don't see eye to eye on this issue!). First, let me tell you that I do not worry when the either of my kids ride Bo or Waska, I only worry about Katie when she is on Sienna. Sienna the Cheetos loving, climb in your pocket, come in your house, two foot high pony? Yes...that very pony strikes a fear in my belly that I do not know what to do with, and let me explain why. Bo and Waska are riding horses, and have been for most of their 20 and 10 years of life, so I know what to expect from them in a variety of different scenarios that involve kids and/or adults riding them.Sienna on the other hand, has been a cart pony all of her life (she is 15), and has just recently been used for riding by Miss Katie. This is where the paranoia sets in. I cannot say what Sienna will do under saddle, with a small child on her back, on the trail, in the arena, or walking down the road. I know that while pulling a cart she is safe and reliable, and I would hope that she could maintain her good character with a child on her back, but I just don't know, and that terrifies me....when my daughter is on her back!! We just got a saddle all fixed up for Katie to ride Sienna in , and that is another possible issue. What if she spooks, and then decides that she wants the saddle gone??? It is rather like putting an inexperienced rider on a green horse. Who knows what will happen?Anyway, Amber gets really frustrated with me, because she feels that I should not worry about Katie on Sienna, and she likes to call me an "over protective and paranoid mother." On Katie and Sienna's first ride in the new saddle, Eric was trotting up ahead, and left us all behind. Did I worry about Eric on Bo? Not really, because I know what to expect from Bo. When Katie started to trot after him on Sienna, Sienna was trying to break into a canter, and I told Katie to stop. Sienna has never had a rider canter on her back, and I do not want Katie to try it out on the road. I want it done in an arena, with Sienna on a longe line in case I need to intervene. Amber got mad and kinda yelled at me, saying that I was going to make my daughter afraid to ride horses, and then she asked what was the worse possible thing that could happen if Sienna took off after Bo. The worst possible thing??? Oh my goodness, where do I start? How about Sienna bucks and Katie gets thrown onto the pavement, or Sienna loses her balance and falls, or....I have to stop myself from thinking such negative thoughts and push them from my mind!Again, once Sienna is better trained, and I know what to expect, I will not worry about this, but until then... Amber finally understood my worry when Eric told her that I was over protective, and made him be careful while riding the quads. Amber responded by saying that she guessed it was a good idea that I was cautious, because if she had kids, they would probably be dead from her carelessness. Do ya think??

So, I am curious to know what you guys think: Am I being a paranoid mother, or am I just being safe?

Sigh of Relief...

We can all breathe a sigh of relief, because birthdays are officially done for a while! All together now, "Ahhhhhhhhh......"

We have been having a beautiful fall around here so far (I think that Mother Nature is trying to make up for our crappy summer!), and it has been the perfect riding weather-too bad I can't just go out and ride whenever I want!! Amber and I were able to get out for about three hours on Saturday, and we had a nice, relaxing time....well some of us did! As you can see from the pictures, poor Waska was having an "Arab" day, and he was sure that every little sound, or noise, was out to get him...lol!! He started spooking from the minute we left Amber's driveway, until the minute we returned, and it was really unusual behavior for poor Woo, because he is usually so level headed. Amber wondered if something was bothering him, or if he didn't feel good, and believe me, she had plenty of time to wonder! Part of Waska's concern was that it was a warm Saturday, and there were lots of motorbikes and quads sharing some of the main trails with us (if you look closely at the picture below, you will notice fresh tire treads). Waska does ok with ATV's in general, but ever since he came to within about one foot of being crushed by one (That was a horrible ride!!! What do you do on a narrow trail with a steep incline up one side, and a steep decline down the other, and two motorbikes barreling around the corner at you, totally unaware that you are there until it is almost to late?), he gets a little nervous when he can hear one, but he cannot see it...totally understandable.
Old Bo Bo didn't have any worries that day. I think that he was happy to see me, and to go out for a ride. In fact, I can almost guarantee it, because when Bo is stressed or unhappy about something, he chews on his tongue...sometimes he will do it for most of a ride, because he hates bits, and that is why we are considering using a bitless bridle. No tongue chewing on Saturday!Aren't Bo's big, old, moose ears just too cute??? I call them "moose" ears, because typey and Arab-like they are not...lol!!!On our way home, we ran into two little fawns (not sure where momma was?), who were blocking our way...not that we minded of course!
They were really friendly, and didn't seem to mind us at all. They did, however, move off of the trail and down towards the road, so we hurried along on our way (maybe that is what happened to their momma?). How terrible would it have been if they jumped the guardrail and into oncoming traffic right in front of us???Waska survived the ride (better yet, so did Amber...lol!!!), and Brad (Amber's hubby), may have found the source of Waska's nervousness, while cleaning up some brush at the back of their property, directly behind and beside, the pastures: fresh bear poop!! Having to listen to a bear rustling around at the back of my pasture might make me a little on edge anytime I heard something in the bushes as well...teeheehee!!

Hope that you are all having a great Monday. I am off to write a paper ....ick!!!

At Least It's Not A Birthday....

Tomorrow will be mine and Kevin's 12th anniversary (at least it is not a birthday!!), and let me be the first to tell you that I cannot believe that we have been married that long!!! We dated two years before we got married, so in actuality, we have been together for 14 years...crazy, I know.(As you can see from the picture above, we rode from the church to the reception in a firetruck. One of the perks of dating and marrying a volunteer firefighter...heeheehee!!)

So...now that you get to see a close up picture of Kevin, don't you think that the kidlets look a lot like their daddy? Of course, he doesn't get all of the credit...I did contribute 50% of my chromosomes as well...lol!!!

Anyway...Happy Anniversary Honey...I love you!!!!

September's Last Birthday...

The last birthday that we have in our family for a while is my sister-in-law, Mary's, birthday.
Happy birthday Mary! Remember, you are only 30 once, so enjoy it...lol!!! (Mary holding Eric just hours after he was born) Mary is the best! She helps us out with the kids ALL of the time, and I honestly do not know what I would do without her help.
Let me just tell you that we are all tired of birthday cake...and cookies...and brownies...and...I am going to be sick!
I also wanted to thank all of you for your input on cameras. It was very helpful, and I went out and bought one today. I am embarrassed to say that I bought another Kodak EasyShare (you all know how I felt about my last one!), and I love it!!! Now I am really thinking that my other one was defective from the time that I bought it, and that I just didn't know any better. I went in to the store, fully planning on buying the Canon, but the sales lady talked me into the Kodak. She said that for what I was looking for right now ( price, durability, great pictures, small size...), nothing could really beat a Kodak, although the Canon was a close second. So...for about $120, I bought one. I feel like a kid with a new toy...teeheehee!!!

Once again...Happy birthday Auntie Mary!!!!

Camera Woes....

(This is not my dream camera, it is just a picture of a camera from the internet.)So...you all know how I lament about my camera all the time right? How I dislike it; it's the bain of my existence; my life would be so much better if I had my dream camera...yada yada yada.
Well, two nights ago, Eric accidentally knocked it off of the computer desk, and it appears that it is broken, so why am I so disappointed?
The answer to that is : because I don not have the money to fork out for my dream camera right now, but I must have a camera!
I am trying to decide if I should just charge it (my dream camera), on my credit card and pay for it later, or if I should just buy a little cheapie camera to get me by until it is tax return time.
The problem is that I don not know how "cheap" a cheapie little camera is, and it might be about 1/2 -or close to 1/2, of what I want to spend on my 'forever' camera.

I have survived the past two years with an awful camera, and I am pretty sure that even an inexpensive camera will take better quality pics than my last one.
What do you guys think?? Can you recommend an inexpensive camera (I am thinking one that is under $150)? There has to be something out there that I can use to get me by, and who knows...maybe I will love my new little camera!
(It seems like there are a lot of us in blogging land who are seeking the advice of others right now. I wonder what is up??)

Birthdays, Birthdays, and More Birthdays!!!

Sorry folks! September is birthday month around here, but I promise that there is only one more birthday, and one anniversary left!So...the reason I posted a picture of Eric and Amber together, is obviously because Eric's birthday was/is next. Nine years ago, on Amber's birthday, I took castor oil in the hopes of inducing labor, because Eric was almost one week overdue and getting bigger. He had other ideas however, and he was not born until September 24th, after a 32 hour labor. He was supposed to be born at a birthing center, with my midwife, but after my labor failed to progress past a seven, she took me to the hospital where I was prepped for a C-section. Thankfully the Pitocin worked (no C-section needed!), and Eric arrived, all 9#9oz and 22" of him, screaming and shaking his tiny little fists. When Eric was little, my mom used to call him "Charlie Brown Head," because he had a large and perfectly round head. It is still large and round, but thankfully he has grown into it...lol!!!
He also used to have the longest, whitest curls you have ever seen...until he was a little over two, and Kevin took him to get his first haircut.Now look at him! He is a football, basketball, and baseball playing, horseback riding, hunting, quad/ATV loving, nine year old, but mostly, he is my little boy. Happy Birthday Bud Bud!!! Mommy loves you and I am so glad that God gave you to me!!!!