Started off with Childhood Development and ended up with Elem. Ed.

The weather is driving us all nutty here. Dh has alfalfa on the ground, it won't dry so they can't rake and bale it. We've heard warnings for our area of tornadoes but it doesn't rain, just stays cloudy, so I can't go out on my pony cart... Dd said she'd come out in the hail for me and the pony (she had to do that last month when we got caught out) but if I go out in a tornado I'm on my own.

My answer to this (with my mil, my mom thinks I'm the last word in child raising) is "you had your chance to ruin your children now is my chance to ruin mine. Back. off.

What makes you think something is going oooohhhhwwweee! ar ar ar arooooooooo

I love hearing this. Stinker cat!

I have a theory about driving horses/ponies that I hesitate to post.........but....what the heck! If all the pictures/videos I see of women driving horses and ponies of all sizes I've come to the conclusion the smaller the pony the bigger the woman. Running and ducking. And FYI, my driving ponies are 11.3 and 13 hands. That puts me about 25 pounds overweight.

They are cute.

I'm not sure how tall these two are, I'm going to stick them tomorrow. My mare is 14.2 and that's a really good height for me. Yeah, "fun to ride" translates to "you'd better be a good rider or your butt is going to be bouncing off the ground". I've just realized I want a quiet horse to ride. I can drive my teleporting Arabian but that ground is just. so. hard.

Here are my boys riding the greenies for me this afternoon. Buckskin is AQHA and bay is my Arabian. Both are so tall it's hard for me to get on. I haven't ridden the Arab yet and probably won't for some time, he teleports and is altogether too energetic for me. The buckskin is fat and lazy and I ride him after the boys lope him out, practicing stops, turns, everything. They are a far cry from my well trained little QH mare.

What they said.

Here's my thoughts. (I'm not going to read this whole thread) We live on a farm/ranch. In order for our children to be safe on our property they were taught young how to behave around horses, cattle, equipment. You can not take an 18 yr old kid and stick him on a tractor. In order to be able to safely drive that tractor that kid has to ride with dad in the combine when he's four, watch the guys change around the implements when he's five, watch mom saddle a horse and ride with her when he's little. They learn how to shift gears, read the dials, tell when a steer is going to charge you, know when a horse is getting cinchy. All of this is a basis for as safe as you can be on the farm. Guns too. Ours learned gun safety young. Not as young as that, but the poster is exaggerating to make a point. You don't hand an eighteen yr old a gun. You don't hand a child a gun. But you can begin to teach a child gun safety at a young age. And yeah. If someone wants to hurt you a restraining order isn't worth shit.

I hang around the ranch and mostly do what I feel like doing. I'd don't want a job and I do enough for the guys (helping out with errands, having food ready, etc) that things run smoother with me holding down the fort. And I want to be free to travel if I feel like it. So I work with the horses, clean and cook, and do lots of gardening.

Oh yes! And it's worse when they teach PS.

Um, who said any of this? I haven't heard any mocking.

Two things jump out at me. At 12 he should know what gay is. Any kid that age that is that naive is targeted. And YOU don't want him to scrimmage? Then you are being bullied too. The kid has a history? Then call the police, get a lawyer and stop it.

Go to the doc. A cousin of ours is a beekeeper and got stung so badly on her thumb that the docs didn't believe it was a sting and wanted to amputate. It looked horrendous but finally got better.

The Help. Reading is getting pretty slow around here, garden and ponies starting to take over my time!

If the boys would have fun in their own spaces then just get some big cardboard boxes and cut them to stand like that. Like a presentation or display board. Might cut down on a little distraction and they could have their own space to decorate.

I don't know but I had some last night too and was up with severe heartburn.

Ha and eww!

Not listening....lalalalalala

Sounds like a lot of fun. My sister lived in Atlanta until recently and managed that big theatre downtown, the one with an organ that rises up from the floor. Gah. Can't remember the name. When I was in college Underground Atlanta was the place to visit. Does it even exist anymore? ETA- Fox theatre and Mighty Mo the organ!

My mom before she re-married.

Oh, I absolutely agree. BUT you must realize that for those of us whose living is made off the land that's like asking how much money we have in the bank. Even though it's public record. I understand it's an innocent question. But if I answered I'd have to kill you. Or dh would skin me alive. LOL Our yard that I mow is around four acres. 8) OP- I didn't mean to fuss at you at all! I'm sorry if I upset you.

It's lovely.