Life is draining!

I knew life would be harder, with a lot of amazing rewards.  I just didn't realize HOW hard it could be!  We had a major answer to prayer, calls to the universe, etc.  Last week my sister-in-law left for Oregon where she got a job.  Yes!  The trip wasn't the easiest for my in-laws, but we're all hoping things pay off in the end. They took her so that they could pick up a '66 Chevy pick up truck.  It's caused a few headaches so far, but it all seems like it's starting to work out.  Another call in to the universe is in order!  It looks like Bella's truck from Twilight (though, my brother-in-law pointed out some difference about a step up or something ... whatever ... lol) and I can totally see taking it out for a date night spin sometime!  Too bad we don't seem to have a drive-in movie theater here, I mean, how perfect?!

While they were gone, my wonderful hubby turned 27.  So in love with him, still!  In a couple of weeks we'll celebrate our 7th anniversary AND, around the same time we celebrate 9 years together.  NINE!  Crazy.  I feel like we just met and fell in love and I also feel like we've been a part of each other forever.  He is the piece I was always missing.  Add in parents that I absolutely enjoy sharing a home with and I am lucky.  Oh, and don't forget that little monkey of ours!  I truly don't know what I did to deserve it, but I'm not going to mention it!

My mother-in-law's birthday was a few days after B's and monkey and I made her a chocolate mousse cake.  We used my brand new mixer (that I LURVE) and had a lot of fun learning about directions and measurements.  We talked a lot about how we have to do things in a certain order and not just throw it all in at once. :)  He did great and let me tell ya, that kid loves to cook!

and clean ... 

... and clean some more ...

and I'm always happy to get a nice smile from my love!

As for farm life, well, it's been trying lately.  The first week with Rhia went really well.  I groomed her every day and took her out for a short ride.  She was a little pushy for treats, but that first week I just brushed it off.  And then she decided that I should have brought treats during one of our walks and she reached back to bite me and then turned and knocked me over with her hip.  I have been desperately trying to keep things from crashing this last week.  I've tried to go in every day and be as confident as I can be (but, I'm not a confident or self-assured person ... the thousand pounds she has on me doesn't help).  B ran her the other day for about 20 minutes and she settled down quite a bit that day and we ran both horses again today.  She's gotten much more dominant over Lilly, my assumption is that because I'm not letting her assert dominance over me any more, she's asserting it where she can.  

I worked with her for a bit today while B worked with Lilly, but I can only do it for so long.  If she starts to get pushy it is usually my cue to make an exit.  Today, B had Lilly tied up so he could work on brushing her, so I couldn't just leave (Rhia would have got into the middle, which isn't the safest place for B or Lilly for that matter).  I worked on staying calm and collected before B's mom came in and worked with her.  She did nip at her, but M is so much more confident than I am.  I am hoping that a good friend of mine is coming to help me out for a few days early next week.  I miss her tons anyway, so it'll be really great if she can make it.

Oh, and added to all of that, it looks like Miss Lilo is nesting.  So, looks like we'll have a few more little bunnies arriving soon.  We're all trying to watch over her, make sure she has lots of food and water, not to mention treats, so that she has a better start this time.  

And, that's it from the farm!  Happy Homesteading!