Hello Autumn!

Buuurrrrr! It was shockingly chilly for our first NCEL B-team practice! Get the sheets out everyone cause fall is here!

Congratulations to our 2011/2012 B-team girls!
Nicole, Jess, Kyla, Reid, Abby, Hannah, Clair, and Mackenna

Also congrats to our first RCF Junior Equitation League team!

A big welcome home to Tommy who's here on leave till the 22nd! It's his last time home before he heads off to Afghanistan! Go Marines!

RCF Jumper show this Sunday! Show will start at 8 am with Sandy Vine judging. Looks like we're in for a nice weekend so come on out! Also the wine and cheese trail ride will be starting at 4pm. Hurry and RSVP if you want to ride. These rides are open to everyone so let your friends know!

Happy Friday everyone!

A plan for ADHD

Mommy and Aria <3

Now that I have two young girls I have just been to exhausted to be as strict in my scheduling as I was when it was just Aria. Now that it looks like Aria has ADHD like Gabe does I really feel like I need to tighten up ship and get proactive about getting her the tools to be successful as she grows up. Unfortunately this is a lot more work for me and I am feeling quite overwhelmed. 


Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition that robs children of their ability to focus and pay attention. Kids with ADHD are fidgety and easily distracted. This makes it difficult to stay "on task," whether it's listening to a teacher or finishing a chore. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates 3% to 5% of kids have ADHD, but some experts believe that figure could be as high as 10%.


I know that I do not want her on traditional medication because of seeing friends growing up that were and how the drugs affected them. So we are going to really work with natural alternatives, changes in diet, and a regular structured routine.  


I'm working on a new scheduled to help her learn to be organized, stay on track, and to develop good habits because this is going to be more difficult for her than it would be for the average child. My schedule is going to include specific times for waking up, eating, playtime, chores, activities, bedtimes, and learning. I am nervous about this because we have as a family picked up some lazy habits recently and this is going to be just as hard for Gabe as it will be for me. Sometimes it feels as though it's me against the world but that is a bit dramatic :)


Aria is already on a high protein diet and is getting an Omega 3 vitamin but I'm going to do some more research into this.  She doesn't like meat but she does like some fish, nuts, and she loves eggs. We could also use some more whole grains I just don't like them myself lol. I also need to pay more attention to red and yellow food coloring which seems to be in everything these day I already steer clear of MSG and aspartame. 


We are also really going to cut the TV watching down to a minimum. 


The biggest chore is going to be organizing my home so that there is a specific place for everything. This is to help Aria's organizational skills develop plus it's something that needs doing anyway. This is the most overwhelming because I'm going to be the only one doing the organizing and Gabe and the children tend to undo everything I get done.


Anyway this is my plan and we'll see how it goes. We started this morning a little bit and so far so good. 

Horses

So I changed my blogs name so I could include posts about horses and my dogs and anything else :)

I just watched the newish Secretariat movie and really enjoyed it, but then I enjoyed pretty much every race horse movie I've ever watched. Some of my top favs Secretariat, Ruffian mini series, and Phar Lap.

Horses have taught me so many life lessons, training them, caring for them, and riding them. Some of the top things I have learned are PATIENCE, responsibility, how to enjoy the process, and a lot about trust and relationships.

Bebop my new addition is the sweetest little guy and I'm really enjoying working with him and can't wait till his first show :)

Me and Godiva

Spring Cleaning!

So this week has been our major spring cleaning week! I got lists off the internet mostly from Martha Stewart. I order my daughters formula from Diapers.com and we ordered a bunch of natural cleaners from their sister site Soap.com.

As a side note the reason I get Zoey's formula online is I can't find the particular one in stores. It's Baby's Only Organic and I like it because the ingredients are much better than the average baby formula. I also get her Nordic Naturals baby DHA drops from Soap.com.

So back to cleaning! Here are some of the products I used and my reviews of them:

Biokleen Carpet and Rug Shampoo - This stuff was great! We used it with a Rug Doctor rental and it did much better than the the Rug Doctor brand shampoo. Between the pets and the kids our white rugs were beyond filthy and really just need to be tossed. Biokleen is all natural so I didn't have to worry about the kids walking on the rugs before they were completely dry and there was no feeling of soap residue. Also it has a fresh lime smell to it. We even got a stain up from when Aria found a marker and colored on the floor with it!

Biokleen Bac-Out stain and oder remover - We did spot clean with this stuff and it also did wonderful job. I just should have ordered more of it as we didn't have enough to get every spot.

Vaska Herbatergent unscented laundry detergent - This I got because Zoey Has sensitive skin and I have been having a hard time finding a detergent that was gentle on skin but tough on stains. I wasn't hugely impressed by it's stain removing power I'd say it was about average. It is however very good for those with sensitive skin.

Clorox Green Works all purpose cleaner - I prefer Green Works to Method or the other natural brands you get at the grocery store simply because it seems to get the job done well.

Seventh Generation Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner - I do however prefer this brand of toilet cleaner because it works and there are no strong fumes just a nice pine smell. Fumes from most non- natural cleaners give me a bad headache.

WEB Filter Fresh Home Air Freshener - I used these things all winter in their Cinnamon scent! You put them in your vent and your whole house smells wonderful. For spring I tried Tropical Bay, Ocean Mist, Country Cotton, Country Berry, Lavender Bloom, and French Vanilla. The two fruity ones made the house smell like candy and the vanilla was a bit strange and we ended up with lavender. I really love these things, but I do wish they lasted longer and I feel like they work better when your heater is on as opposed to the AC.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while I've been pretty busy with chores, kids, and with training Aria's new pony! Also my tomatoes have sprouted and have survived being picked and dropped by a 2yr old and being knocked over by large dogs so hopefully we will have lots of nice tomatoes this year. I decided not to do the whole garden because with both girls and the new pony I'm just too busy.

my simple dinner go to's

Latkas - grated potato pancakes I grate potatoes and onions and put the potatoes in ice water so they don't turn brown. Then I really ring them out and then mix with onions, flour, salt, pepper, and an egg. I never measure for this but I'll try to next time. I serve with apple sauce and sour cream. The only difficult thing is getting the oil the right temp so that they come out crispy and golden not soggy, raw in the middle, or burnt.

Salmon Fillet - I use frozen Alaskan salmon. I thaw it in the fridge over night then put it in an aluminum foil wrap with a pat of butter some fresh dill and a squirt of lemon juice. then I bake at 450 until flaky (careful not to over cook, dry overcooked fish is horrible!).

Roasted Asparagus - simple simple :) olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Back at 4oo!

Roasted mixed veggies - I like tomatoes, onions, summer squash and zucchini, potatoes etc same as above just omit lemon juice.

Rice - I am a picky rice eater lol. The only plain brown or white rice I like is Basmati. I hate short grain mushy rice! As a standard I cook it with chicken stock rather than water for flavor omitting extra salt and sometimes adding minced garlic and/or parsley/herbs. I use a 1 - 1.5 ration rice to liquid. I like wild rice as well. For fancier days I like to make saffron rice. I haven't found the perfect recipe yet I just really love saffron.

Hot water pie crust - I love this recipe! I use butter instead of shortening and it's a bit hard to work with but it always comes out light and flaky and delish.

Buttermilk pie - for when I have nothing else this a great simple custard pie with a little tang :)

More to come :)

Date Night Dinner #2

Gabe really likes beef and I saw some strip steak for not too much and picked it up. I decided to serve it with butter dill asparagus and dinner rolls.

Soft Dinner Rolls:

• 4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F to 115 degrees F)
• 2 cups warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
• 6 tablespoons sofened butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 7 cups all-purpose flour

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, butter, eggs, sugar, salt and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes (dough will be sticky). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 24 pieces. Shape each into a roll. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks.

For the steak a simple salt/pepper rub and pan sear (I never cook steaks in the oven they get tough) also I let them get to room temp before cooking.

Asparagus simple saute and topped with a lemon dill butter. Usually I'd make my own herbed butter but I cheated and used Wegmans pre-made.

Next Date night dinner will be vegetarian! Let's see if my hubby will eat it! I think I'll post one every other week.

Finally a makeup post!

So I was at Sephora this week and tested a few different products. YSL faux cil mascara which was nice but worth $30 a tube?!? I don't think so ! I also decided to go with brow tint over a pencil and am very happy so far. The Brow tint seems to be much more natural looking.

My fav purchase of the day was Makeup Forever Invisible Cover Foundation! It has good medium coverage and it looks like I'm not wearing anything but just have perfect skin :) They have a good selection of colors and is a great foundation for Spring and Summer. It is a bit expensive at $40 but I like it better than even Mac.

Here I am with a brown smokey eye, my new foundation, and nude Lip color by Sephora called Dolce Nude. Sorry for the quality it's just a cell phone pic.