"Time to feed the horses!!"

You know better than to tell a two year old something too far in advance. You know better than to give her ammo for the next 24 hours to drive you insane, but she is being too rough with her little sister and you have tried everything to curb this behavior, even for just a few hours. So you break down and get down to her level and get her attention and proceed to - Bribe her!

"Grace, if you are a good girl, and nice to your sister. - You need to be gentle, show mommy what gentle looks like. - So if you are a good girl and nice and gentle with your sister we will go to Auntie Dot and Uncle Buck's tomorrow night". We were going to Scottsdale to have dinner with the family anyway and will still go even if she is naughty, so I am hoping she behaves.

"And we are gonna' feed the horses carrots Mommy?"

"Yes, if you are a good girl, you can feed the horses carrots."

And so the rest of the evening Grace asks, when we are going to feed the horses? Is it time to feed the horses yet? Can we go feed the horses now? Announcing that she is going to feed the horses, and talking about the dogs. It goes on like this until bedtime. I have told her tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, but two year olds do not have a sense of time. It's almost bedtime, by the time morning rolls around, she will have forgotten all about the horses.

She gets up in the morning and not a word about horses or dogs, Dottie or Chuck. "Wheew!" Then after breakfast it starts. She needs and apple, she is going to feed the horses. She needs to get some carrots, it's time to feed the horses. She is a woman obsessed. I finally convince her that we will go feed the horses after nap time. It seems to work and with only a few reminders of 'after nap time', I have curbed the incessant horse talk. I know, I brought this upon myself. I was desperate and now I am paying the price.

Nap time comes and Grace goes down with very little fight. She reminds me that she is going to feed the horses after nap time and goes to sleep. An hour and a half later and about an hour sooner than I had hoped I hear through the monitor in her room...
"I'm Awake! Time to feed to horses!"

So we slowly get ready to leave. Pack a bag, load the car get changed and washed and all at a painstakingly slow pace. Grace is so excited it is adorable. She talks about the horses and the dogs the entire 30 plus minute drive to Scottsdale. We pull in Dottie and Chuck's driveway and she is cheering and squealing. We get in the front door, Grace asks "Auntie Dot - We go feed the horses carrots?!?" Dottie says, "Yes, let's go" And Grace refuses... Yes, flat out, terrified, refuses to go outside. In part because for all her talking about the dogs, and as much as she loves Molly a big, beautiful, gentle giant of a Golden; Danny the Springer Spaniel terrifies her and Tally the Lab jumps on her and Dublin is just big, gentle and kind but a solid, big Golden and coupled with the other two the dogs they are big and overwhelming and outside. So even with someone holding her up and out of reach of the dogs, she refuses to go out into the yard.

We play, eat, visit, it's almost time to go. Grace has asked to and refused to feed the horses a handful of times. Finally Uncle Buck picks her up and walks to the paddock. Dottie opens the gate and the horses come over for their treat and Grace turns her back and clings to Uncle Buck for dear life. Not even looking at the horses, forget feeding them. Don't worry though, the best part of the story is, the entire car ride home, Grace told me, in her most proud little voice, about how she fed the horses carrots. And she laughed as she told me and told Lily she fed them and made the sound effects that go along with a horse eating carrots "Chomp, Chomp, Chomp". In her mind she did it and it was so exciting.

She cracks me up!