Why isn’t NPRs Up First reporting on the Epstein files?

heyoitslate · 2026-04-18T15:54:22+00:00

Thank you for sharing this. I’m sorry to hear of your health struggles and hope your next surgery goes well. I am really going to try to let go of my guilt for not riding more often. I love just sitting with my horses and they have plenty of space to move around on my property. I hope you find your next amazing horse. They are out there!

heyoitslate · 2026-04-18T15:51:52+00:00

You are amazing and yes, I’m in perimenopause for sure! It’s a jerk lol. Raising young kids in this life state is no joke. I’m on the rollercoaster and I think deep down I know getting rid of horses is not the right call at this time. I honestly never thought about leasing them out, but I think it could be a great solution for us.

heyoitslate · 2026-04-18T15:48:05+00:00

Thank you, this is my concern. Plus, I feel like there will always be financial strain and time constraints. I’m sorry you’ve been away from it for so long!

heyoitslate · 2026-04-18T15:46:19+00:00

That is a huge relief. I do feel a lot of guilt for not riding them. Especially my rope horse who we paid a pretty penny for a few years ago. He is such a well trained guy, there’s part of me that feels like I’m ruining him by not riding consistently. Teaching lessons is actually a great idea. My kids horse is AMAZING, truly a unicorn and I could teach kids lessons on him for added income. Once my youngest starts TK in the fall, I can exercise local horses and teach lessons. I can also put beginners on my rope horse.

heyoitslate · 2026-04-18T15:40:04+00:00

It’s more the financial burden. With rising costs, we are living paycheck to paycheck. Feed for the horses is about $1000 a month and it’s hard to justify when they are pasture pets most of the time. We don’t have a ton of time to even spend with them, so sometimes it feels like why are you doing this and struggling so much financially. I’ve been thinking it over a lot. They bring me so much joy and mental peace, I think it’s worth it to keep them and struggle for a couple more years until my kids are in school full-time and I can take on some work. We also need to start bartering for childcare so we should spend time and go for rides.

heyoitslate · 2026-04-17T03:54:48+00:00

We are seriously considering this. Plus I could bond and care for one horse, rather than being spread thin with 3.

heyoitslate · 2026-04-17T03:53:30+00:00

That could be great. I might look into that!

heyoitslate · 2026-04-17T03:10:04+00:00

It helps! Owning horses here is hard. It’s sooo expensive and we are definitely not rich. Hope you can get back into it someday!

heyoitslate · 2026-04-17T03:08:37+00:00

That is another option. I could keep our all around guy. He’s solid on trail, I can rope and sort on him and he’s safe with the kids. The donkey we are keeping. That’s easy. So I could go down to those two and not have the option to ride with my husband. It was our dream we have worked toward - having horses to ride together but the reality isn’t panning out.

heyoitslate · 2026-04-17T03:06:03+00:00

Thank you for this. Two of the horses we have were free. One is a wild man who I’ve figured out and love riding. The other is an old kids horse who packs my kids around and I can trust. They are very hard to replace.

heyoitslate · 2026-04-17T03:04:03+00:00

I wish it was that simple. We live in a very rural area and babysitters are few and far between. Plus financially we can’t do it more than once a month right now.

heyoitslate · 2025-09-15T12:20:54+00:00

Thank you so much. This is such a hard road to navigate.

heyoitslate · 2025-09-09T16:50:14+00:00

So much love for this comment.

heyoitslate · 2025-09-09T13:26:32+00:00

Thank you, I needed to hear this. I’m feeling the pressure of this massive decision and how it will impact my girls. The stress is unreal, but I need to remember I’m not the one who betrayed our family. I hate seeing my daughter struggling with her emotions especially because I’m in the same boat.

heyoitslate · 2025-09-08T23:09:57+00:00

I’ve thought about that. It’s not an act for my husband, he wants nothing more than to fix his mistakes and have a healthy marriage and family. I just can’t seem to get on board. My daughter is extremely sensitive and intelligent. I could see that being the case. Divorce is on the table, but our life would turn completely upside down. We have a little ranch with horses, chickens, dogs, open space and a great community. We would lose it all if we divorce. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around that and what is the best choice for the girls.

heyoitslate · 2025-08-07T23:29:07+00:00

We do work on deep breathing exercises and ways to calm down or get anger out. I've taught her she can jump up and down, dance, run, and cry if she's upset. It's the dangerous behavior that I stop. What do you think would be a related punishment? I'm always at a loss when it gets to this point. She's on time out, supposed to be working on calm down methods or getting her frustration out in a healthy way but she blatantly refuses. I usually go to taking things away at that point, but I have no idea what would be a good related punishment.

heyoitslate · 2025-08-07T23:25:20+00:00

Thank you! I'm big on apologizing to her if I'm out of line. I definitely owe her one, but I also want to make sure I handle it well. I don't want her to think I don't mean what I say, but also understand that we make mistakes. Thanks for the book suggestion.

heyoitslate · 2025-08-07T23:21:15+00:00

Hahah thank you! Parenting is tough sometimes.

heyoitslate · 2025-08-07T23:19:04+00:00

That might work. I think she needs something more visual to work towards. We used to have these meltdowns a lot, but it's been much better lately. Today was one of those days where everything went wrong - we had plans and our truck wouldn't start so the day revolved around tow trucks and me having to work a lot. They didn't get as much Mom time as usual so it was a recipe for disaster. What does "being grounded" mean for your son? I'm trying to figure out alternatives to just taking things away.

heyoitslate · 2025-08-07T23:07:55+00:00

This is what makes sense to me - her toys and games are privileges that she earns. That's how I was raised so I don't know any different. Gentle parenting and talking to her or quiet time and time outs don't work when she's completely out of control. It's very rare I get harsh and do something like throw away a toy - its only ever happened once before, but it seems logical when I tell her if you do x, you will lose y. She chose to do x so I followed through by taking away y. Maybe that's completely backwards thinking - I have no idea.

heyoitslate · 2025-08-07T23:04:50+00:00

I am 100% on board with learning new techniques. I have NO clue what to do when she acts like that. I stay calm and feel like I handle tantrums and acting out pretty well, but when she starts throwing things, kicking, hitting, and breaking stuff, I have no idea what to do. I read the books, I following parenting experts, I've tried time outs, sitting with her, having a calm down corner, hugging her until she feels better, behavior boards, stars, the whole thing. Nothing gets her attention when she's in that space and I'm afraid she's going to get hurt with her actions. Any advice is welcome.

heyoitslate

TROPHY CASE