A Horse Woulda Been Nice

I was asked to help move a bunch of yearling calves on Saturday. They needed to go from one pasture to another that was about 1 1/2 miles or more away (I am not good at these calculations so I might ask The Prairie Daddy later but for now this will do). The Brother-In-Law rode the only horse we have available on this ranch right now...and even this horse is recovering from a fractured leg from last summer. The Prairie Daddy and myself were left to use ATVs. This is actually much easier as far as getting places quickly and not having to saddle up and unsaddle, but on this move another horse would have been a nice addition. I found out on Sunday that Dad went to Billings and bought a couple horses for our ranch on Saturday. I will look forward to meeting them soon. However, they weren't around on Saturday and the yearlings still needed to be moved.

So, I had a little rodeo without a horse! I felt like I was going to get bucked off my ATV a few times. There were some steep areas to ride, lots of sage brush to crush or dodge, and a few ditches that scared me. At one point I thought I might tip over backwards since I was going up a steep bank forwards. I even got high centered coming out of one of the ditches and neither my front nor rear tires were touching any ground. The Prairie Daddy was watching me struggle to get going again and he put 4 fingers up in the air. I didn't know what he meant. But I did stand on one side of the ATV and jump up and down while pushing the throttle and got some traction and got 'er going again. The Prairie Daddy was on his way to rescue me at this point and yelled "You could have used the 4-wheel drive!" Oh, that's what the 4 fingers meant! I proudly yelled back "Well, looks like I didn't need it!" But I knew that I really was silly for forgetting I had 4-wheel drive, however if NO wheels are on the ground what good would it be anyways?

I also experienced a slip n' slide on my ATV after several calves deficated fresh, slick manure all over the trail and as I followed them I slid all over the place! Nice, eh? Aren't you glad I love sharing vivid details of my adventures?

The Prairie Kid rode with The Prairie Daddy. I wish I had pictures to show you but I had to work hard on this ride and there was no time for goofing off with a camera. The Prairie Kid yelled and hollered at those calves to keep moving and he continually waved at me. It was a great time.

Speaking of The Prairie Kid, he has been bouncing back and forth between sweeping me off of my feet and driving me batty. I'll start with the driving me batty so that we can end on a sweet note.

What drives The Prairie Mama batty? A child who is so obviously approaching his third year. I have heard that the 3's are much worse than the terrible 2's. The 2's haven't been too bad. We have had a few phases here and there but nothing that hasn't been shadowed by fun and funny phases. In fact, 9 months to about 22 months were the hardest for me so far. It was hard to have a mobile child that couldn't respond to verbal directions. I hated constantly having to get up and move the child or remove something that was off limits. I remember the first days that he started responding to my verbal commands...I thought I had won the lottery!

Back to the "so obviously approaching his third year." My tough child who barely whimpered when he actually got hurt is now whining like a whimp. We've never responded dramatically to bumps, falls, tumbles, or other normal toddler owies unless they were significantly in need of kisses, band aids and blankies. This helped our child be able to move on and not fall apart unless it was necessary. Well, lately, he not only falls apart with typical bumps and bruises but he is INVENTING hurts. "OWE! I HURT SELF!" When we have to physically move him because he is choosing not to on his own he cries and screams and hollers "OWE! YOU HURT ME!" I am actually afraid that some day in public someone is going to think that I am actually hurting him!

He also has gotten clever and makes up excuses. Today he had no trouble carrying the half-empty gallon of milk to me to fill his cup. This is typical...if he wants milk he brings me the jug and his sippy and then he puts the jug away. But today, he cleverly tried to get out of taking the jug back to the fridge by pleading "It too heavy!" Funny, it wasn't too heavy when he brought it to me...and now it was another cup lighter!

There have been great temper tantrums as well. Thankfully the recovery chair is still working and he doesn't like to go there so it usually only takes us giving him a choice and he corrects his behavior, however one time this past week he was so upset he threw some dice at me and ended up in the recovery chair for quite a little longer than usual.

Whew. That was all yucky pre-schooler behavior stuff. Let's move on to the sweet "sweep me off my feet" stuff.

I got back from camp 10 days ago. The Prairie Daddy and The Prairie Kid picked me up as I exited the school bus (remember the details about this '88 gem?). Well, every day, more than once a day, The Prairie Kid says, "Mommy home. I missed you. I love you. Mommy schoo bus." Today we were baking brownies together when he said "Mommy home. I missed you." And he leaned over and gave me a hug!

Our bedtime routine takes place in our bedroom. We get The Prairie Kid's pjs on, teeth brushed, read the Bible, and then its time for hugs and kisses for Mommy so Daddy can take him to bed. Lately, though, before hugs and kisses The Prairie Kid has been cuddling up between us under the covers for a little while. Now this is extra special for me because my kiddo isn't a big cuddler and I like to cuddle.

The Prairie Kid sweeps me off my feet. What a great note to end on.